Project G Part 5 - SEED OF GODZILLA
by DHT
Summary: Doctor Yuma is abducted by terrorists and forced to resume his work on the Godzilla cells. Doctor Honda goes looking for him and discovers that multiple rival factions are conspiring to take over the world using mind-controlled monsters. A series of revelations and betrayals culminates in Godzilla fighting his most terrifying enemy yet: his own bastard offspring.
1. DISAPPEARANCE

Doctor Adam Yuma sat up late at night, studying the mold he had been given by the native tribe he encountered on his trip to the Adona Islands. He had only been back in Hiroshima for three days and was eager to come to a final conclusion regarding the mold and its purpose: to cure radiation sickness.

That did not necessarily mean that it could reverse the long-lasting effects of radiation exposure, like the cancer that had been slowly killing one of his patients, the teenage girl Keiko. In fact, for all he knew, the mold could be lethal to her weakened immune system. He could not afford to take any chances. The Hiroshima Defense Science Center, where he had previously worked for military research, was much better equipped for such thorough examination, so he gained special permission to reclaim his old laboratory and took full advantage of its facilities.

Yuma winced as he peered into his microscope. His eyes were sore and dry. He looked at the clock hanging on the far wall; it was nearly three in the morning, much later than he had intended to be there, but he knew if he went home now, he would not be able to sleep.

As he reached for a bottle of eye drops, the air was suddenly filled with the deafening wail of a disaster siren. The door to Yuma's lab burst open and in came Hirano, the senior officer. "Doctor! It's a monster attack! Take anything you want to save and come with me!"

Yuma grabbed his duffel and stuffed not only the mold samples but his notes and microscopic photographs inside. The two of them took off down the hall and practically slid down the stairs to the emergency exit.

No sooner had they left the building than an explosion at the port illuminated the night sky. The attacking monster had destroyed an oil tanker and caused a massive fire. A vicious cackle rang out, reverberating off the buildings until it filled the entire city.

The guards of the research center poured into a JSDF cargo truck and drove off to the emergency shelter, leaving before Yuma and Hirano could get in. However, the doctor's own car was parked in its usual place, so they opted to take that instead.

"Allow me," said Hirano, opening the driver's side door and climbing in. Yuma got in the passenger's side, still holding onto his duffel. He looked over and was shocked to see Hirano pointing a gun at him. "Please, Doctor. Your seatbelt."

"Hirano! What are you doing?"

"Seatbelt!"

Yuma anxiously did as he was told as Hirano pulled out of the parking space. "Where are you taking me?"

Hirano sneered. "You'll see soon enough." He pulled the trigger, shooting Yuma with a tranquilizer dart. The doctor slumped forward, unconscious almost instantly. Hirano hit the gas and sped away, heading in the opposite direction from the shelter.

Meanwhile, the monster disappeared as abruptly as it had appeared, too quickly for anyone to get a clear look at it.

* * *

As the first rays of sun appeared, Doctor Kumi Honda stood in Yuma's lab, looking over what remained of his research materials. Everything pertinent to his study of the Adona mold was gone. After a few minutes of searching fruitlessly for any clues as to what had happened to her friend, Honda addressed the guard standing in the doorway. "You said Doctor Yuma never came to the shelter?"

"That's correct."

"And who was this other man who didn't show?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Hirano. He's the head of this facility. One of the truck drivers said he saw them getting into Doctor Yuma's car together, but nobody knows what happened to them after that."

"I see. Had either of them mentioned anything before about going somewhere?"

"No, Doctor. We still don't have any leads."

Honda sighed. "Well, thank you for giving me as much information as you could." She walked out of the laboratory and down the main stairwell. Around her neck was the necklace given to her by the Wise Ones from Infant Island to improve her psychic powers. She held the golden pendant of Mothra between her fingers and tried to sense Yuma, but it was no good; he was too far away.

 _Come on, Adam_ , she thought. _Where are you?_

Takashima, the pilot who transported her on missions, was waiting for her when she came outside. "Well, Doc? Any clues?"

"All they know is he left with the senior officer. They don't know why or where to." Honda took a seat on the steps leading up to the main entrance. "I don't understand! Why would they just take off without a word?"

Takashima sat next to her. "Didn't you say that when you were in the Adonas, Major Clarke tried to abduct both of you?"

"Right; that's what I'm worried about. What if whoever paid him to 'acquire' us is behind this?"

"Who was it, though? Why did they want Doctor Yuma, and why would they want his research?"

Honda looked over her shoulder as a woman in a lab coat came walking toward them. "I'll tell you later," she mumbled, standing up to meet the approaching scientist. "Excuse me, are you one of Doctor Yuma's colleagues?"

"Yes." She held out a hand for Honda to shake. "I'm Doctor Sawaguchi. I work at the hospital. You must be Doctor Honda."

"I am."

"I'm sorry about all of this. I understand you two are very close. We got a call that he had gone missing, so I looked around to see if he was with the other staff or his patients."

"Did you find him?"

Sawaguchi shook her head regretfully. "I'm afraid not, but I did notice that one of his patients was missing, a teenage girl named Keiko."

"Kieko? I think I met her! Wasn't she the orphan he'd spent years caring for?"

"Yes, I think that's her. I don't usually work with the inpatients. I'm sorry I don't have more to tell you."

"You've told me plenty. Thank you, Doctor."

The scientists bowed to each other. As Sawaguchi left, Honda turned to Takashima. "Keiko was his favorite patient," she whispered. "For them to both disappear on the same night seems awfully suspicious, don't you think?"

"It sure does. Doctor, do you think maybe you should lay low for a while? You could be in danger, too!"

Honda folded her arms resolutely. "Of course not! There's work to do. One of my dearest friends is missing, and we have a new monster to track down. Speaking of which, we should get back to the _Shirasagi_ and see if we can't pick up this thing's trail."

* * *

Somewhere just off the southern coast of Shikoku, the nuclear submarine _Musashi_ was on patrol when the sonar operator detected something suspicious.

"Captain! Unidentified object two kilometers out."

"Direction?"

"It's circling us, maintaining distance."

"It's what?" The captain leaned over the sonar operator's shoulder to look at the screen; he recognized the movement pattern as the predatory behavior of a giant monster. "Speed?"

"I can't tell, but too fast for torpedoes."

"Better call the _Shirasagi_ and tell them we found their guy."

* * *

Honda and Takashima had just entered their AC-3 transport and were preparing for takeoff when the call came through.

" _Submarine_ Musashi _to_ Shirasagi. _Do you read us,_ Shirasagi _?_ "

Takashima answered, "This is _Shirasagi_. We read you. Go ahead."

" _We are passing Cape Ashizuri and have detected an unidentified creature; target has not made any hostile moves but appears to be stalking us. Requesting your support. Over."_

Honda said, "Godzilla should be near there. I'll send him in."

Takashima nodded and spoke to the the submarine captain again. "Roger that, _Musashi_. Reduce your speed and don't make any abrupt changes in course. The big guy is headed your way."

* * *

Godzilla was not only one of the strongest creatures alive, but one of the greatest swimmers ever. He arrived on the scene within ten minutes to find the _Musashi_ still being menaced by a fast-moving creature. Godzilla could catch glimpses of the monster and tried to read it telepathically, but there was no response. The creature was not sending out any readable brainwaves.

All of a sudden, the beast darted toward the _Musashi_. Godzilla moved to intercept, but the attacker reached the submarine first and plowed right through it, rupturing the hull and destroying the vessel in a spectacular explosion. Godzilla felt the fear and anguish of the dying crewmen, but there was nothing he could do.

As the debris cleared and the displaced water settled back down, Godzilla looked around but could still barely see the other monster as it sped through the dark waters like a torpedo. After a few moments without seeing anything, he was struck from behind with tremendous force and sent reeling. Before he could orient himself, he was struck again, but this time the other monster latched onto him for just long enough to take a huge bite out of his shoulder; it then pressed its feet against Godzilla's chest and used its long, muscular legs to launch itself off.

Godzilla spun head over tail through the water, while blood streamed from his wound. He managed to steady himself and put a hand over the gash on his shoulder, which was already healing rapidly. By the time the cloud of blood cleared away and he could see clearly, his assailant had vanished. Confused and distressed, he reached out to Honda telepathically.

 _Friend!_

 _Godzilla? What happened?_

 _The other animal destroyed the vessel. It took a bite out of me, and then it disappeared._

 _Disappeared?_

 _It swims quickly, quicker than me._

 _Can you follow it? We think there might be a connection between the monster and Adam's disappearance._

 _I can't find it._

 _What?_

 _I can't sense the creature's presence like I can for others. It was a flesh and blood animal, not a machine, but I could not feel its mind, like there was nothing to be felt._

 _An animal with no mind of its own...How can that be?_


	2. MAD SCIENCE

Yuma awoke with a splitting headache. He was sitting in the dark, he knew not where. He tried to move, but his arms and legs were strapped to his chair. After about a minute, a single dim light turned on. Yuma could see that he was in a small room of concrete, seated directly opposite from a metal door with no handle or latch.

The door slid open with an electric hum, and in walked a tall Japanese man. He wore an ash grey military uniform and a white officer's hat with a black bill and unfamiliar emblem: a golden shinai surrounded by red bamboo leaves and two gold horns. The skin of his face was leathery but not droopy, suggesting old age but not oldness. He wore a large patch over his left eye with an embroidered red Japanese dragon; long scars radiated outward from the eye.

The man smiled maliciously. "Doctor Yuma!" he said with a deep, gravelly voice. "I'm so glad you could join us. I have been watching you some time, and I must say you impress me. You took my work farther than I ever could."

Yuma blinked sleepily at his host. "Who…ugh…who are you? Where am I?"

The tall man took off his hat, revealing that the scars around his left eye actually continued beyond his ears, all the way up his forehead, and most of the way back to his scalp, leaving noticeable lines where the hair could never grow back. "My apologies, Doctor. I should introduce myself properly. I am General Shinzo. I took over the Gargantua program from Doctor Reisendorf."

Yuma gripped the arms of his chair tightly. He remembered Sanda and Doctor Mizuno's account of Shinzo as a brutal, sadistic man.

Shinzo chuckled at his captive's distress. "No need to fear, Doctor. I have no intention of hurting you. Maybe your little friend, but never you."

"Friend?" Yuma swallowed hard. "Who else have you abducted? And why-?"

Shinzo wagged a finger at him. "Later. I'll keep you in suspense. First, I'm going to show you some things, and I want you to pay attention…and not just for your own sake."

Two guards in beige uniforms entered and began undoing Yuma's straps, while Shinzo pointed a silver-finished high-caliber pistol directly at his heart. The guards stood Yuma up and prepared to cuff him, but Shinzo waved them off.

"No! Let our guest of honor roam freely. I think he has a good enough reason not to run. Now, would you like to see the rest of the base?"

Yuma wanted nothing more than to make a grab for Shinzo's gun, but he knew that so much as talking back could get him - or someone else - killed, so he simply sighed the word, "Yes."

Shinzo led him out and down a long hall. Yuma had expected to see grungy concrete walls or steel bars, but instead, the walls were freshly painted pewter and the floor was checkered with black and yellow marble tiles. There were many metal double doors painted cadmium red with blue borders, and as they walked along, Yuma could see through hallway windows into brightly lit laboratories and training rooms, filled with researchers in lab coats examining chemicals and materials, or shirtless soldiers performing elaborate martial arts exercises in perfect synchronization. The lack of outside windows suggested that the facility was somewhere underground.

"What is this place?" asked Yuma.

"Devil's Island," replied Shinzo. "After I escaped the atomic blast in Hiroshima, I wanted more than ever to get back at the Allies for what they had done to my country, but when I heard that Japan wanted to surrender, I decided to take vengeance into my own hands. Nobody outside my platoon knew that I had survived, so I have been biding my time here, building up an arsenal and sending out agents to find like-minded people who want to restore Japan to its former glory."

"Does this merry band of miscreants have a name?"

"The Red Bamboo, for the color and the plant are traditional symbols of Japan's strength, a strength that most of the country has forgotten."

"Funny. Major Clarke told me something about 'Seekers of Seatopia,' or some such business. I figured that would mean you."

"That is not the name of any one organization or entity. Rather, there is a demanding market now for ancient artifacts and alien technology, and it attracts many interested parties who use that title collectively."

Yuma remembered what Honda had told him about the Wise Ones and Nirai Kanai. He did not know if Shinzo had found out about them, so he feigned skepticism. "You don't honestly believe all that 'lost continent' business, do you?"

"Oh, we do, along with many others. Some of these 'Seekers' are mere collectors, others worshippers, but most just want to make money. The Red Bamboo, on the other hand, wish to master the ancient art of the gods: creating and reshaping life. Then we will have the power to accomplish our goal: all the world under one roof."

Yuma knew as he listened that his situation was more dire than he had previously believed. The phrase "all the world under one roof" was a slogan of Japanese supremacy during World War II, and if the Red Bamboo still had that outlook, then his position as a white man from a former enemy nation meant that he was that much less likely to ever be set free. He could only assume that Shinzo would have him disposed of once this was all over.

After walking a while longer, they stopped outside one of the double doors. Shinzo approached a keypad on the wall and entered a code. "I want you to see what we've been up to since the war."

The door opened to reveal a chamber filled with meter-wide and ceiling-height green cylinders. Shinzo stepped inside the room and pressed a yellow button on a wall-mounted panel. The cylinders opened to reveal cryogenic tubes, and inside, deformed human bodies. Yuma gasped as he recognized the effects of a failed attempt at recreating the Reisendorf formula: colorless skin shrunken tight against distorted skeletal frames, overgrown yet brittle hair, ulcers crusted over with fluid, bloody eyes, and faces twisted into inhuman expressions midway between agony and despair.

"I suppose," said Shinzo, "you know what these are."

Yuma nodded in horror and muttered, "Gargantua."

"We never could get the formula right. Eventually, we decided that we were wasting time and resources, but it wasn't long after that when I learned of your experiments with the G1."

"The G1! How did you find out about that?"

"We have connections. Right now, the world seems to be unified, but it's also more militarized than ever. A lot of new tech and weapons are being developed, and global power is shifting almost daily. We won't be fighting monsters forever, and once it all ends, we're going to be living in a very different world. I don't know about you, but I and many others want to be ready for that different world. And that's where you come in."

Yuma angrily protested, "But the G1 experiments didn't fair any better. The subjects all died."

Shinzo sneered. "I'm aware. I also know that their deaths failed to deter you from trying it over and over again." He took Yuma firmly by the arm and led him down the hall to their next stop.

As they rounded the next corner, they encountered three people: a tall Chinese woman in a black lab coat with glistening blue metal earrings, Hirano wearing a similar uniform to Shinzo, and a young man with heavily bandaged arms whom Yuma recognized. The woman greeted him with a sweeping bow.

"Greetings, Doctor Yuma. I am Professor Fang. I have been looking forward to meeting you for some time. I understand you have already met Agent Hirano and Lieutenant Rex."

Yuma thought back to the Adona expedition. Rex was one of the soldiers on the mission who had been paid off to capture him and plunder the natives' home. The rest of his group died of radiation poisoning during the expedition, but Rex was taken alive, albeit with a few bullets in him by which to remember the incident. "Adam," he grunted in contemptuous acknowledgment toward the doctor.

Yuma matched his glare. "How are the arms?"

"They'll heal, no thanks to you."

"I'm not the one who decided you should kidnap me."

"Enough bickering," said Shinzo. "Now, Doctor, would you like to see what we've been up to here?"

Nearby there was another dual door, but this one had titanium bars glowing green with some strange energy, a force field of some type. Shinzo entered a password into a keypad on the wall; the energy field deactivated and the doors opened, revealing a second set of glowing bars within. A second code was used to open both sets of bars. Inside was an antechamber leading to a large room with a wide, thick window covered by the same energy barricade as the bars.

"Go on," said Shinzo. "Take a look inside."

Yuma stepped closer to the window. The interior area was massive, about one hundred meters wide, tall, and deep. Within was an indeterminate organism that took up most of the available space. It had green, scaly skin like a reptile, but an otherwise plant-like appearance: a sturdy trunk wrapped in thorny vines, large roots that disappeared into a deep pool of murky water at the bottom of the room, and at the very top, a giant unbloomed rosebud.

"What is it?" asked Yuma.

"Biollante," said Shinzo. "My goal was to make a biological weapon, combining a highly invasive species of rose with the Adonian vampire plant and Godzilla's ORGA."

"His what?"

"Organic Regeneration and Growth Accelerator. I recall in your research files, you referred to the G1 organelle as its source. We have made several more of such hybrid creatures, but now we have something more ambitious in mind. We want your talents for working with the Godzilla cells and radioactive items, so perhaps you can help us reach our goals."

Yuma shook his head. "I don't care what your goals are. I want nothing to do with this."

Shinzo laughed mockingly. "I knew you'd say that, so I thought I'd give you some incentive."

A guard entered the room pushing a wheelchair holding a frail young woman in a hospital gown with a black bag over her head. Yuma's heart sank as he realized who she was even before the guard behind her removed the bag from over her head: Keiko. Upon seeing him, she burst into tears. "Doctor Yuma!" she moaned between heaving sobs. "What's happening?"

Overcome with rage, Yuma lunged for Hirano's throat, only to be struck from behind with the butt of a guard's rifle, knocking him to the floor. Rex sneered and kicked the doctor's side while he was down. Shinzo lifted the dazed Yuma to his feet and directed his attention to a corner of the room on the window side. Another locked door was there, which Hirano approached and entered the password for; the keypad lit up red, and a panel of the wall slid back to reveal a large, white button.

"Now," said Shinzo, "you will see what happens to those who fail us."

Shinzo's guards seized Rex by the arms and dragged him squirming toward the door. "Hey! Hey, wait! What are you doing? No! Stop! I didn't-"

Hirano pressed the white button and the sliding door opened. The guards threw Rex out into empty space, but as he fell screaming toward the bottom of the huge chamber, one of Biollante's vines uncoiled to reveal a wide, toothed mouth at the end. The appendage snatched Rex mid-descent and swallowed him whole.

"You see?" said Shinzo. "We have no patience for incompetence. The late lieutenant failed in his mission to acquire you, then nearly exposed our organization."

Hirano closed the door and walked over to Keiko, running his fingers through the trembling girl's hair. "Now, Doctor," he cooed facetiously, "I'm sure you wouldn't want anything so unpleasant to become of such a beautiful young lady!"

A quavery whimper escaped from Keiko's throat. Yuma's entire body still shook with anger, but he was powerless to act against their will.

A buzzer rang out over the base's intercom, followed by a synthesized voice announcing, _"Titanosaurus has returned from his mission. Repeat: Titanosaurus has returned from his mission."_

Shinzo smiled and gestured toward the hallway. "How excellent. Doctor Yuma, come and see what else we do here."

Yuma reluctantly followed Shinzo and Fang outside. The others accompanied them out, with a guard pushing the now openly weeping Keiko along. Yuma hated himself for getting her tied up in all of this. She had been too weak to walk for a while now, and she was getting worse. He estimated that she had a month to live.

Fang and Shinzo led him down a flight of stairs into an immense grotto filled with seawater. Just after they arrived, a giant reptile reared its head from the water. It resembled a Spinosaurus, albeit with a more elongated body and neck, a dorsal sail that ran all the way up to the top of its head, and a rudder-like fin on its tail.

"This," said Shinzo, "is the mighty Titanosaurus! We have the power to control monsters, and now we have several guarding our island. Titanosaurus is the fastest swimmer in existence, so he's perfect for sending out on missions that require monster-sized backup. I sent him to attack Hiroshima to provide cover for your abduction, and then to retrieve something for me."

Titanosaurus craned his neck so that his head was over solid ground, then coughed something up: a car-sized lump of Godzilla's flesh.

"A fresh sample!" exclaimed Shinzo. "Before, we had to send agents into cities after Godzilla's battles to obtain measly skin samples from the wreckage, but now we ought to have enough for you to work with for months, if necessary."

Yuma eyed the bleeding, throbbing mass in disgust. "And what am I meant to do with it?"

"Pick back up where you left off."

"But I told you, the experiment was a failure! I…" Yuma remembered that Keiko was present and his voice trailed off.

Fang stepped in. "We believe the mold you found may hold the secret. By suppressing the radioactivity, the solution will be more readily assimilated and assert itself less violently."

Shinzo said, "We want your creativity and experience. Every resource will be at your disposal, and Professor Fang has some ideas you may wish to incorporate into your work."

Keiko began to cough. Hirano pulled out a canteen and gave her a sip of water; she reluctantly accepted, glaring at him the whole time. Yuma looked on in concern. "Please," the doctor said to Shinzo, "you must allow me to treat my patient!"

"We will," said Shinzo. "You're not just working for us. Your solution will save her, too."

Yuma despaired. He had already destroyed his Gargantua research because he could not stand to think of what it might do to this patient, and this could be even worse, but he knew he had no choice.

"Now, then," said Shinzo, "I have other matters to attend to, so I'll let Professor Fang show you to your new workspace."

The laboratory Shinzo had set up for Yuma was as well-equipped for precise and demanding work as he had promised. All the tools he could ask for were present, including a large electronic microscope, but the first thing to grab his attention was a film projector with a reel in place.

"What is that?" he asked, pointing toward the player, dreading the answer.

Fang grinned nefariously. "I'm glad you asked! Just some old records of your previous work. Would you like to see it? How about you, sweet little Keiko?"

Yuma defeatedly slumped into a chair while Fang dimmed the lights and started the film, projecting the images onto a blank wall. Keiko looked at Yuma in bewilderment. "Doctor?" she asked quietly. "What is this? What's going on?"

He said nothing and averted his eyes as the film began. Keiko turned to watch and was shaken to her core by what she saw.

The film was monochrome and no sound accompanied the video. The picture quality was deteriorated, but not so badly that the events being captured were not easily understandable. There was Yuma, standing over a half-naked man strapped to an operating table in the lab of some unknown facility. He injected the man with a dark liquid from a hypodermic syringe, then stepped back and watched as his subject's veins darkened across his body and he started to convulse. Yuma looked frightened and stepped out of frame as dark fluid seeped from the subject's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth,

Yuma returned into view with a second needle and tried to inject his subject, but his spasms were too extreme to get it in clearly. Instead, the doctor turned and motioned to someone offscreen. A soldier entered the frame with pistol drawn; he pressed it against the convulsing man's head and pulled the trigger as the film ran out.

Fang flicked the lights back on and once again turned her sickly smile toward Keiko. "As you saw, Doctor Yuma has experience working with Godzilla's cells. The former General Martin wanted to make soldiers who could do battle with monsters, but all he managed to do was inflict horrible deaths upon twenty seven men."

Keiko gasped. "Twenty seven?!"

"Yes, child. And he only stopped when he thought he had found a better mutagen to use. It's too bad Yuma never proceeded with those experiments, but now he's back to pursuing his true life's work. Isn't that right, Doctor?"

Yuma still said nothing.

"Very well," said Fang, walking to the door. "I'll be back soon to start preparing for the new experiment. You two feel free to chat amongst yourselves until I get back!" Chuckling ominously and fiddling with her earrings, Fang left and slammed the door behind her.

Keiko stared at her doctor in shock. She felt so many emotions at once: anger, resentment, betrayal, disillusionment, but mostly sadness. "Why?" she moaned through chest-wracking sobs. "How could you? You're one of them! You're a mad scientist!"

Yuma remained silent. The truth was out. His terrible past had been laid out before the one person he feared more than any other to reveal it to. He knew nothing he could say would restore Keiko's faith in him, so he turned his mind to the problem at hand. Maybe, he thought, just maybe going along with the Red Bamboo's demands for now would buy some time to escape or for someone to find them.

There were three small bedrooms adjacent to the laboratory with a cot in each: one for Professor Fang, two for the prisoners. Late on the first night of their captivity, Keiko awoke to the sound of a woman's voice whispering to her out of thin air.

 _Keiko…Keiko, help me!_

She whispered back fearfully, "Who's there?"

 _Help me, Keiko. Please. Come to me!_

With some painful effort, Keiko raised herself to a sitting position. "Who's there?" she asked again. "Where are you?"

The voice carried on vaguely. _Please help me! I'm so alone. Come to me, Keiko!_

Keiko tried to get out of bed, but her legs refused to cooperate. She called out hoarsely, "I'm coming! Where are you?"

The door to her cell creaked slowly open. Keiko gasped as Fang entered, still wearing her black lab coat. "Feeling restless, little one?" She reached for her belt and touched something in a holster which Keiko could not see but assumed was a gun of some kind. "How about something to help you sleep?"

Keiko's teeth trembled as she lay back down in bed and pulled the covers tight around herself.

Fang grinned malevolently. "Good girl. Sleep tight!" She left and closed the door behind her, slowly sliding the squeaky bolt back into place.

Keiko nervously swallowed and tasted blood; her gums were bleeding. Too afraid to move or cry for help, she lay flat on her back and waited for the hemorrhage to cease, all the while weeping openly, forgetting completely about the voice in the night.


	3. THE SEARCH BEGINS

Godzilla searched the seas around Japan non-stop for two whole days, but there was no sign of the creature that attacked him. Eventually, he was so worn out that he had to stop for sleep in the Seto Inland Sea. Honda was exhausted, too, having slept fitfully and spent her waking hours anxiously awaiting any news. She and Takashima were sitting in Yuma's office, trying to decide whether to stay there or return to Iwato Island, when a guard knocked at the door.

"Excuse me, Doctor Honda, but there's someone here to see you. She says her name is Doctor Amirpour."

Honda suddenly felt wide awake as her visitor entered the lab. Doctor Amirpour had accompanied her on the Adona Island expedition, posing as an anthropologist; she was actually Agent 9 of the Saradia Secret Service. Honda could tell from the look on 9's face that she had news and meant business.

"Thank you, sir," said Honda. "Would you mind giving us some privacy?"

"Of course. Excuse me."

Once the guard was gone, Amirpour approached Honda to shake her hand. "Good to see you again, Doctor."

"Likewise, Doctor Amirpour."

The agent saluted Takashima. "Commander."

Takashima returned the salute. "Always a pleasure, Doc."

Honda was taken aback. "You two know each other?"

Takashima nodded. "I'm sort of an inform-"

Amirpour hushed him abruptly. She pointed at Honda, then to the side of her own head. Realizing she wanted to communicate telepathically, Honda nodded and began interfacing with Amirpour and Takashima at the same time.

 _Okay. We'll do it like this. Agent, why the extra secrecy?_

 _I don't know if we can trust anyone at this facility. I know Takashima is on the level because he has worked with me as an informant._

 _Wait - Commander, were you spying on me?_

 _More like looking out for you. Agent, would you mind explaining?_

 _Of course. Doctor, a UN special intelligence committee has been pursuing a ring of illegal weapon manufacturers and black market dealers. We first became alerted to their presence two years ago when they raided a base in eastern Russia and stole the designs for portable energy weapons made to combat the Meganula. Two months later, terrorists in my home country were using those weapons on civilians. This has happened multiple times: weapons made for use by the UNMCC are stolen and reappear in the hands of criminals and mercs. It seems their dealers have carved out quite a niche for themselves._

 _Do you think they were behind this?_

 _Yes. In addition to the weapons and technology, many of the researchers who made them have gone missing, and we have reason to think it's connected. That is why we had Commander Takashima keep tabs on you, to make sure you didn't disappear and to watch out for moles in your operation. Recently, we identified the head of this facility, Lt. Col. Hirano, as a suspect. We believe he took Doctor Yuma in order to forcibly enlist his services in making bio weapons._

 _You knew about this?! Don't you think you should have done something sooner?_

 _We were going to, but the committee believed we should wait to put together a stronger case against him; otherwise, we might have blown our cover and spoiled the operation. Doctor, I'm terribly sorry that he made his move before we could get to him, but we're using every resource to find Doctor Yuma - and we'd like you in, as well._

 _Me?_

 _You can just read their minds, right? No need to blow our cover._

 _I'm afraid it doesn't work that way. It's a two-way connection. When I read someone's mind, they can feel it._

 _Damn. Oh, well. At least you could make interrogation easier._

 _Do you have any ideas on where to search?_

 _I have a few leads, but I think we're nearing the big one. Hirano popped up on our radar because we intercepted correspondence between him and Pyotr Prokofiev, who led a military coup in Rolisica. We think Prokofiev is one of the top guys in this organization._

 _Do you think he has Adam?_

 _I don't know. They serve so many clientele; they might have handed him off to someone else._

 _But do you at least have a plan?_

 _We do. Prokofiev oversees everything from a seaside base, and in a few days, he'll be gathering his customers together to show them something new. My man on the inside has arranged for me and a team to attend disguised as potential buyers._

 _And me?_

 _You and the commander will be on standby with Godzilla. We don't know for sure what Prokofiev is showing off, but it's probably going to be big - literally, and we'll need Godzilla for backup._

* * *

Three days into his work on Devil's Island, Yuma was suffering from severe exhaustion. He could not sleep for more than an hour at a time, and no matter how much water or food he took in, it passed right through him without filling him up.

Keiko lay on her cot all day, not making a sound. Yuma could not stop thinking about the danger that he had put her in, and how much she must have hated him for it. She had looked up to him for so long, and now she knew exactly what he was and what he had done. He did not know about the voice she heard in her head, growing stronger with each passing night, nor of her repeated unsuccessful attempts to escape her room and find its source.

Fang worked with Yuma, providing some suggestions but mostly deferring to his expertise; however, he suspected that her true purpose was to keep an eye on him and ensure that he did not slack off or foil the experiment. Her habit of pausing to play with her jangly earrings quickly became obnoxious to her prisoner, who had to fight the urge to rip them out whenever she started doing it while standing next to him.

Yuma found the laboratory's resources exceeded expectations; under better circumstances, he might have felt honored. In a short time, he was able to identify the molecule in the Adona mold responsible for combating radiopathology and create a solution to be used as a protective agent for the reluctant subjects of Shinzo's experiments.

The process for creating the ORGA solution was far more arduous and time-consuming, and the rate of failure was high. The G1 first had to be isolated from a red blood cell, then inserted into a human blood cell; the organelle rarely survived the removal process, and insertion into a human cell frequently triggered apoptosis. Once a hybrid cell was successfully formed, it could be placed back in the donor sample and refrigerated, allowing the G1 to spread through all of the blood cells to create a blood solution that could be injected; this, too, had a high failure rate. Finally, after more attempts than Yuma could count, a viable solution was created and deemed ready for use.

The two scientists were brought into an observation room where Shinzo and Hirano stood waiting. On the other side of a two-way mirror, a frail old Japanese man in a grey prison uniform lay strapped to a test table, trembling in fear. Yuma peered in to take a look at the man. "One of your own men?" he asked.

Shinzo chuckled spitefully. "No, we are not quite so callous as the men of your military. We have taken many prisoners over the years. This man was an officer in the war, but he surrendered rather than dying honorably. This is his chance to be redeemed."

Fang held out the vial of ORGA blood to Yuma. "This is your work, Doctor."

Yuma took the vial and held it up to eye level. Then he looked grimly at Fang and Shinzo. "Professor, General, I know how determined the both of you are. You've been waiting for this for a long time, experienced many failures, and took a tremendous risk bringing me here. Nevertheless, I am first and foremost a man of medicine, so I must beg you not to go through with this. Please. Don't subject anyone else to this cruel experiment."

Shinzo shook his head solemnly. "No, you are right. We have sacrificed much - too much to go back now. Know that it brings me no pleasure to force you to do this." A corner of his lip curled upward for a fraction of a second, betraying the lie. Yuma pretended not to see.

"In that case, at least understand that I would sooner be fed to your overgrown flytrap than ever put this poison in another man's body again."

Fang smiled as he passed the vial back to her. "Very well. I shall do it myself."

The professor walked into the next room and approached the table. The bound man squirmed at the sight of her and cried out for mercy, but Fang ignored his pleas and injected him without a word.

Even before the effects of the injection manifested, Yuma could feel his own heart racing. As he remembered the horrors experienced by the men he butchered, it was like the ghastly elixir was coursing through his own veins. At any moment, the man's body would begin to twist and change violently.

But it never happened! The man on the table gradually calmed down, as did Yuma. Had the experiment succeeded?

Yuma sighed. "I was pretty worried for a moment there!"

Shinzo grinned. "That was just inoculant from the mold. The ORGA is next."

Yuma caught his breath as Fang pulled the vial of G1 blood from a pocket of her coat, transferred the contents to a syringe, and stuck the man in the arm.

Almost immediately, the subject began trembling and his veins bulged, turning jet black. As the solution reached his heart, his chest heaved and his back arched. His cries of pain were muffled as dark green, tar-like fluid came bubbling out from his mouth. Yuma had seen it before; this was exactly what happened to the man in the film recovered by Fang. The subject's immune system was fighting the injection, and the G1 retaliated with antibodies that made the blood toxic.

As the subject's spasms intensified and the sounds of his bones snapping could be heard over his screams, even through the glass separating the rooms, Fang reached into her lab coat and pulled out a strange-looking firearm. It was similar in size and shape to a large caliber revolver, but in place of chambers for bullets was a glowing green energy cell. The professor pointed it at the man and fired a bolt of crackling plasma that incinerated his head in an instant; the body continued to shake for several seconds before its movements ceased.

Shinzo gave a sigh of mild disappointment. "I guess we're still getting there."

Yuma turned away from the carnage, taking deep breaths to calm down.

Shinzo looked him over. "You seem worn out. Have you been eating and sleeping?"

"Trying to."

"Maybe a little sunlight will do the trick. Come. Let me show you a bit of the island!"

Knowing the difference between an invitation and a command, Yuma obediently followed Shinzo to a cylindrical elevator. The lift carried them up for what seemed like ages, until finally they reached the surface and stepped out from a small cave. Yuma stepped outside and was nearly blinded by the noon sun; once his vision recovered, he looked around him.

Shinzo and Yuma stood on a ledge halfway up a high cliff. The island was densely forested, but a huge area had been cleared, and in that space, hundreds of prisoners toiled away, digging a deep quarry.

"What are they digging for?"

"Artifacts. This island is part of the Adona archipelago; there's no telling what treasures our ancestors left behind. Don't worry; we're far from the radiation zone, but you'll find this island is abundant in monsters all the same. Take a peek over the edge of this cliff."

Yuma poked his head out and looked straight down. Below was a monstrous ape, seated with his back to the cliff, watching over the prisoners.

"That," said Shinzo, "is Kong, the strongest animal to ever live. He keeps an eye on the prisoners. Should one attempt to escape, he'd snatch them up in the blink of an eye. He's not the only muscle we have around here, either." He pointed to the right, toward a second, deeper quarry; an orange monitor lizard watched from the top level, flicking a tongue the length of a truck. "Komodithrax, queen of the lizards, with a bite that even Godzilla would fear."

Shinzo led Yuma off to their left; from this new vantage point, more prisoners could be seen chopping trees to make clearings through the jungle, and overhead, a gold-feathered bird surveyed their progress.

"Ookondoru! Another of our exotic pets. Isn't she magnificent? I'm sad to say that she can't quite match the speed of Rodan, but she can come close. "

The bird abruptly swooped down and seized a terrified prisoner in her talons, pausing just long enough to devour him before taking off to resume surveillance.

Shinzo chuckled. 'Well, we do have to feed our pets every now and again!"

"So you're controlling that bird and the gorilla with your technology, like Titanosaurus."

"Correct."

"What's the mechanism?" asked Yuma, sabotage on his mind.

Shinzo smirked and wagged a finger. "I'm afraid that's a trade secret!"

"Well, what about your hybrid creatures? Why not use them to do your work?"

"It seems they inherited some of Godzilla's psychic power and are immune to our mental control." As a ship's horn sounded in the distance, he pulled out a spyglass and looked toward the shore. "Ah, one of our ships is back! Care to see?"

Yuma took the spyglass and peered through it to watch the heavily armored ship pulling into port. He panned right a bit and saw two prisoners sneaking onto the beach with a handmade raft.

Shinzo noticed him staring and grabbed the spyglass back to see what was so interesting. He gave a short gasp of surprise. "How did they manage to-? Hmph! It doesn't matter. They're not going to make it far."

The escapees were not seen by any of the crew on the dock until they were nearly a hundred meters from shore; the guards did not intervene, but pointed to the tiny raft and laughed with each other. Yuma realized what was coming but could only watch in horror.

A giant crustacean claw broke the surface, nearly swamping the raft. The escapees knew they had made a fatal error and tried to turn back, paddling for their lives, but the claw smashed down on top of them, pulling them down to a watery grave.

"You see," said Shinzo, "this island is inescapable. We may not have the manpower to patrol every square meter of beach 24/7, but the monsters will attack on sight unless we order them to stand down. So unless you want Ebirah to make seafood out of _you_ , I recommend you steer clear of the beach."

Yuma swallowed nervously. "Are you going to put _me_ under your control?"

"No. Our technology suppresses higher thought processes to make subjects more vulnerable to suggestion, and we need you to be thinking clearly and creatively. Now, how about you go back to that fancy lab we built for you and make the best of it?"

* * *

Once back in the laboratory, Yuma found Hirano standing by the door, and within, Fang was already hard at work creating a new concoction. She greeted him with that toothy grin he found so menacing. "Not a bad setup those old boys have, eh?"

"I don't need to tell you how I feel about it all."

"No, I suppose it makes sense. For what it's worth, my opinion of their organization is no higher than yours. They just have something we want."

"So are you a Seeker, too?"

"I am, but not in the same way. I suppose Shinzo's told you by now about his 'art of the gods' idea."

"A bit."

"Well, hope for your own sake that you never hear his whole spiel. I, on the other hand, believe in science. These ancient people, whatever you want to call them, were not gods but scientists, much like the two of us. My organization searches for ancient technology and sells it to the whoever will buy. I understand you saw some old relics yourself on your last expedition. Oh, don't give me that look! Rex told us everything, like how that psychic friend of yours went Golden Bat on his team mates. He also told us there wasn't much to see, aside from some savages, gold trinkets, and a lovely stone pyramid; not exactly what we're looking for, though I would still like to see it for myself one day."

Yuma was relieved to hear that the secret of the Wise Ones, which Honda had been reluctant to share even with him, was safe.

Fang produced the glowing firearm from her coat. "This, on the other hand, has potential. We've found three so far; the other two are being examined to see if we can reverse engineer them. If so, they're guaranteed to be a big seller."

"Is that the sort of thing Shinzo's hoping to find in the quarry?"

"Perhaps. In any case, he's using my organization's technology to control the monsters guarding this facility, so that means we get a share of whatever they find." She set the gun aside and flicked her hearrings again.

"Can't you stop doing that?" Yuma growled, reaching for Fang's ears only to be floored by a stinging lash across the face from the back of her hand.

"Now, now!" said Fang, wagging a raised finger at him. "Never touch a lady's jewelry!" Still playing with her earrings, she walked to the door and opened it. "Hirano," she said, "keep an eye on our guest for a few minutes. I must speak with Shinzo."

Hirano did as he was told, closing the door as Fang left. "Isn't she a doll?" he said mockingly as Yuma braced himself against a table, swaying dazedly. "Don't let her get under your skin, Doc."

* * *

Fang found Shinzo meditating in his personal quarters, seated on the floor wearing only his pants. She saw him from behind and noticed his eyepatch lying on the floor; he picked it up and put it back on before he stood to face her. "What is it, Professor?" he asked impatiently.

"A word from my boss. He demands an update on our timetable. Care to offer your opinion?"

"I put you in charge of the lab work. Just tell him what you think."

Fang tapped her left earring and waited a moment. "Bare with me. Hard to get a signal underground." She tugged her earlobes until the receptors picked up the message being transmitted. "Ah! That's better!"

"Well? What does he have to say?"

"He is…disappointed. He was expecting results by now."

"So was I. We had a deal."

"And thus far, you have been unable to deliver on your end of the bargain: our technology in exchange for ORGA."

Shinzo stomped toward her, pointing an accusatory finger. "You're the one who was supposed to be making it! Your incompetence-"

"My incompetence? Was I told wrongly that you executed seven prior scientists for failing to realize your designs? We gave you all of our best scientific resources, and even with my services and now those of the experiment's progenitor, nothing has come of it!"

Shinzo balled a fist and held it before Fang's face. "You're right about one thing: I have no qualms with killing those who fail me! So you'd better watch your mouth, you little bitch!"

Fang smiled. "You know as well as I do that if you lay a finger on me, you'll be the one who suffers." She placed a hand over Shinzo's fist and nonchalantly pushed it away. "We could turn every monster on this island against you." She pulled at the cord of his eyepatch to expose what was left of his injured eye; he was trembling and did not resist. "Then, once your base is in ruins, maybe we'd put you under our control and make you do funny tricks. You know, like a little bitch!" She spat into his face and released the cord so that it smacked loudly against his skin.

Shinzo glared at her, knowing that she was right. He told himself that one day the Red Bamboo would assert their power over the world, including Fang, her boss, and their wretched organization of faithless war profiteers.

* * *

A few nights later, Keiko once again awoke in the late hours to hear a feminine voice calling her.

 _Keiko! Keiko! Come to us. We need you!_

 _Who? Where are you?_

 _We are here! Follow my voice and you will find us._

Keiko managed to lift herself upright in bed with a groan. She hesitated to move further, expecting Fang to barge in again. Presently as nothing happened, she tried to stand up, but putting even the slightest pressure on her legs caused tremendous pain. Her wheelchair was in the room; she reached for it, but it was just beyond the extent of her arm from the bed. She considered rolling out of bed and climbing into it from the floor, but knew that doing so could be injurious or loud enough to draw attention to herself.

 _Come on!_ Keiko thought to herself. _Just a little farther!_

Suddenly, the wheelchair moved.

Keiko drew back her hand in disbelief. How could it have moved on its own - or did it?

Reaching out again, she concentrated intensely on the wheelchair. Sure enough, it slowly rolled over to her bed. Excitedly, she climbed on and wheeled herself toward the door.

The door! It was bolted from the outside. Nervously, Keiko reached toward it and tried to sense the bolt on the other side. After a few moments, she could feel it as though her fingers were running directly across the cold metal. She slowly moved her hand in a sliding motion and felt the bolt come out of place.

With a smile of satisfaction, Keiko wheeled herself toward the door with her hands, but as she was most of the way there, she decided to try using her mind to move the wheels, too. It worked! She had to bite her lip to contain a hoot of delight. Now she was free to explore the facility and find out who or what was beckoning to her.


	4. MONSTER MARKET

Rolisica was a small island nation east of Taiwan, a former Russian penal colony that later became a state of the USSR, with a naval base being established there during World War II. However, in the intervening years, Rolisica had forged a national identity of its own, and its relationship with Soviet leadership was at best tenuous and often outright hostile.

In 1961, these tensions culminated in a military coup led by Pyotr Prokofiev, who was born in Rolisica but formally educated in Russia before returning as acting military commander. The seizure of power occurred without spilling a single drop of blood; Prokofiev had stolen high-tech weapons not just to sell them, but for his own use, and armed with these weapons, he was able to intimidate the local government into submission and send them scurrying back to Soviet territory. When Rolisica declared itself a sovereign nation, Soviet leadership let them be, reasoning that the tiny island nation had neither the resources economic nor political to sustain itself in the long run and would soon have no choice but to rejoin the Union.

In fact, while Rolisica had achieved short-term success with its weapons and technology deals with other governments and radical groups, there was an open secret among all involved that the engagement could not last. Prokofiev did business with anyone who would buy his product, and often these groups had contradictory goals, some even being in direct conflict with each other.

For example, the Saradian insurgents wanted to claim their nation's vast oil reserves in order to gain power in the energy market; however, clean plasma power, derived from the same reverse-engineered Xilien technology that produced their weapons, was gaining popularity and threatening to render fossil fuels obsolete. Among Prokofiev's frequent shoppers were communists and capitalists, isolationists and expansionists, anarchists and fascists; any two of these groups would just as soon fight each other. This feeding of the beast ensured that the entire arrangement would inevitably be short-lived.

However, it also presented a particular challenge for Agent 9 and her task force posing as Saradian insurgents, as this tension would mean that they were under suspicion and watchful eyes from the moment they arrived.

The gathering took place under cover of night at the aforementioned naval base, now directly under Prokofiev's direct control. Customers came pouring in by plane, helicopter, submarine, and boat; all told, there were just over two hundred people assembled on the docks, including Agent 9 and her party of four. Most of them were representatives or subordinates of their respective leaders, but two monarchs and the head of an opposition party appeared in person; Agent 9 noted this, seemingly confirming that Prokofiev was presenting something special.

The experienced spy had many times posed as a man when incognito, and today she did so yet again; her team would be under enough scrutiny without fielding questions as to why a woman was present among a group of patriarchal religious fanatics. Fortunately, she was about the same height and build as her male subordinates, and her hair was short enough to be wrapped up with a turban. Her distinctly feminine facial features were concealed by a thick prosthetic beard and other makeup. Unfortunately, she could not do a convincing male voice, so if there was a need for talking, she would have to leave it to her team.

Honda and Takashima monitored the situation from the _Shirasagi_ , now equipped with the cloaking technology from Major Clarke's modified _Helios_ prototype to make themselves invisible to not only the human eye but thermal imaging and radar. With Godzilla lurking below them on the seafloor, they waited about ten kilometers away from the base, prepared to intervene at a moment's notice if the situation turned sour. Honda's pendant allowed her to communicate psychically with Agent 9 from a long distance.

Once all the guests had arrived, Prokofiev himself appeared - a tall, sturdy man with gunmetal grey hair and a permanent scowl that could freeze blood. As usual, he was clothed not in a suit and tie, but in his old military uniform as a display of power. The stern leader arrived via a small patrol boat and stepped onto the end of the pier.

"Comrades," he shouted in a booming voice, "you are no doubt wondering why I gathered you all here. As you know, the war of the monsters has been fortuitous for many of us. Some of us in power have been able to consolidate that power, while others have found opportunities for personal advancement. The UN has also done most of our work for us in terms of weapons development. However, tonight you will see this taken a step further."

The waters of the bay began to churn as something rose to the surface. Prokofiev's buyers shrank back, bumping into one another as they retreated from whatever was coming. A reptilian head on a long neck emerged to leer at the observers on the docks.

"Fear not!" said Prokofiev. "This beast is under our direct control!" He looked to the creature and clapped his hands together three times, to which it responded by snapping its jaws three times.

Agent 9 shuddered and sent her thoughts to Honda. _Doctor, are you seeing this?_

 _Affirmative. Looks like a cryptoclidus._

Prokofiev resumed his sales pitch. "Consider what this could mean for you! We all have enemies, people we want dead, but to kill them outright would be risky or difficult with the resources you have. What if I could offer you a guaranteed kill and total deniability?"

A murmur traveled through the crowd, building to a rumble.

"Oh my god!" muttered Honda in disbelief.

Even the normally stoic Agent 9 gasped out loud.

Prokofiev let the noise die down before continuing. "We have created a device that allows us to control the minds of these monsters - and, for the right price, we'd be willing to loan them out. Imagine it! An enemy's heavily fortified headquarters would not be so impressive against a giant bird of prey! Or maybe it's not wholesale destruction you want. Very well! We have more than a dozen varieties of creature available for rent. Swarming insects the size of men, who could drive unwanted occupants from you cities. Creatures that tunnel beneath the ground, and in doing so, could destroy your enemy's crops or divert their rivers. " He gestured toward the cryptoclidus behind him. "Or you could sink their entire navies with only one such beauty. Now, then - shall we start the bidding?"

Honda spoke out loud. "Agent! We have to stop this!"

 _No, Doctor. This is a reconnaissance mission. We're here to gather information._

"But you heard him! Thousands could die, millions even, if he turns those monsters loose!"

 _We'll make sure he doesn't, but if we intervene now, it'll be a diplomatic catastrophe._

"Not if we make a show of force! We have Godzilla on our side! When they see him, it'll all be over. No more deals with Prokofiev, no more of these weapons falling into the wrong hands-"

 _There are other things to consider,_ Agent 9 interjected. She was beginning to sweat heavily, threatening to ruin her makeup and dislodge her beard. _Besides, the intel we gather today could help us find Doctor Yuma. Do you really want to risk losing your best chance at rescuing him?_

Takashima put a hand on Honda's shoulder. "Please. Think about Adam."

Honda paused and thought for a moment before answering, "Adam's passion is saving lives and preventing suffering. He would want us to stop these bastards here and now."

 _Doctor! Wait!_

"No. We're coming in!"

Takashima tightened his grip on the control column and opened his mouth to protest, but Honda used her telekinesis to propel the _Shirasagi_ forward regardless while Godzilla zoomed ahead of them.

Agent 9 cursed under her breath. She had managed to identify most of the people in the crowd and had enough information to track down the rest, but it was not an ideal situation, and even if her own cover was not blown, letting the enemy know they had been found out could have unforeseen consequences.

Godzilla was rapidly approaching the docks, ready to strike fear into the hearts of the corrupt, when he himself was blindsided by another monster. The creature, which had avoided his telepathy just like Titanosaurus before, struck Godzilla on his right side, and the two of them went rolling.

As the buyers on the docks shouted out their offers, the smile faded from Prokofiev's face; he put a finger to his ear for a moment, then looked out toward the sea. Agent 9 saw and immediately knew that Godzilla's approach had been detected. Prokofiev motioned to the cryptoclidus, which dove back beneath the water and swam out toward the intruder.

Godzilla righted himself and saw that his attacker was another cryptoclidus, and it was already preparing for another attack. He was charging up his atomic breath when the other cryptoclidus bit his tail from behind. He yelped with pain and fired his ray straight up. Overhead, Honda jolted the _Shirasagi_ out of the way in the nick of time.

The ray illuminated the night sky like a thousand bolts of lightning. On the docks, Prokofiev's clients recoiled in horror upon recognition of the infamous blue flame. Despite their host's desperate calls for them to remain calm, they dispersed, clammering over each other to get to their transports. Prokofiev looked toward the shore in anticipation of his boat returning.

Seizing the opportunity, Agent 9 and her team charged him from behind and tackled him. However, he did not fall when they struck him; he stayed upright and swung his arms, striking one of them hard enough on the head to break his skull with an audible CRACK! and sending the others reeling backward. While Agent 9 was still falling onto her back, she whipped out her sidearm and fired it twice. Both bullets hit Prokofiev in the chest, but still he did not fall. With an enraged yell, he lunged at the remaining spies with the intent to beat them to death with his seemingly superhuman strength.

The cryptocliduses gave Godzilla quite a bit of trouble, rushing in one at a time to deliver quick, disorienting blows with their necks, flippers, and tails before darting away so the other could take a turn. Worse, because the monsters were under mind control, not only could Godzilla not read them, but their offensive coordination was exceptional.

Godzilla, however, had another trick up his figurative sleeve. About two kilometers out from shore, there was an underwater cliff, atop which the water's depth decreased from two hundred meters to about thirty. After planting his feet on the seafloor and lashing out with his tail to clear his path for just a few moments, he pressed his feet against the seafloor and launched himself vertically, reaching the top of the cliff with ease and pulling himself up onto it. The cryptocliduses followed close behind, but now their advantage had been lost. In the shallower water, they were not as quick on the attack; Godzilla, being taller and bipedal, could raise his arms above the water and slam them down hard upon his enemies' heads.

Once they had tired out somewhat, Godzilla charged up his atomic pulse; the fin-like generators on his back did not lose as much heat to the night are as they did when under the cold water, so he was quickly able to reach full power. The cryptocliduses charged Godzilla together, aiming to topple him before he could fire his ray, but they were not quite fast enough. The atomic ray hit one of them directly in the face, bringing immediate death; the surrounding water came to an instant boil, cooking the other one's brains. Godzilla, meanwhile, was only a bit singed, and thus he waded through the steaming waters toward the docks.

Agent 9 emptied her clip into Prokofiev's torso, yet still he appeared unaffected. He slew a second member of her team with a single punch that caved in his chest; to the third he delivered a powerful kick that sent him flying off the dock into the water. He advanced on Agent 9, whose false beard had fallen off in the chaos.

"Well, how about that!" said Prokofiev, cracking his knuckles, which resulted in a surprising metallic clank. "I've never had to strike a woman before. Why not spare me the displeasure?"

"Fine by me," said 9, sliding a clip of armor-piercing rounds into her pistol and opening fire. The first shot hit Prokofiev in the shoulder and caused him to lurch backward; the second hit his eye and he finally fell backward, blood pouring down his face.

Agent 9 approached the fallen brute and gawked at what she saw. Chunks of metal stuck out from his shoulder wound, and where his left eye had once been, a void in the flesh revealed more metal and optical fibers.

"What the hell are you?"

Prokofiev jumped back onto his feet and shoved Agent 9 aside before leaping into the bay. She ran to the edge of the dock and began firing into the water, but there was no sign of him anywhere.

The _Shirasagi_ materialized overhead and Honda jumped out from the ramp, using her telekinesis to lower herself gently onto the dock. "What was that?"

"Looks like Prokofiev has been experimenting with human augmentation. He's some kind of cyborg."

"Where did he go?"

"He just disappeared. I don't know where to."

An airship suddenly rose up from the water, emitting a blinding green light for a few moments before rocketing through the air at immense speed. Honda and Agent 9 were nearly thrown from the dock by the force of the ship's blastoff, with only the former's telekinesis keeping them from going for an unpleasant swim. Even then, once they had found their balance and looked around, the ship had vanished. Godzilla had watched it leave and was now gazing eastward after it, but it was already long gone.

Honda asked, "Do you think Prokofiev was on that ship?"

"Probably. I'm guessing he stowed it under the docks as a getaway vehicle." Agent 9 looked around the docks, which were now abandoned save for themselves, her two dead team mates, and a few visitors who had been trampled in the panic. "Speaking of which, his guests certainly bailed in a hurry. Maybe your little show of force will convince them to hang low for a while after all, but we can't let our guards down just yet."

Honda pointed at the water. "Look! Isn't that one of your men?"

Agent 9 groaned in distress upon recognizing the body for herself. He was floating face down in the water, and his head was surrounded with blood. "That bastard is going to pay for killing my men!"

Just then, they heard a voice on a bullhorn shouting at them, "Stand down! This is the Rolisican Maritime Patrol. We are detaining you for questioning."

Looking toward the shore, they could see a patrol boat approaching, the same one that had dropped off Prokofiev. Honda nudged her friend. "What do you think? Should we comply?"

"Not on your life," she growled, reloading her pistol.

"Ha! No need for that. Watch me!"

Honda reached out toward the boat and made a tugging gesture. The vessel flew out of the water toward them, her crew hanging on for dear life. When it landed right in front of Honda and Agent 9, one crew member tried to reach the boat's mounted machine gun, but Honda bent the barrel with her powers, rendering it unusable.

"Now then," she said, "unless you'd like me to do the same to your arms and legs, I want some answers. Where was that ship going?"

One of the crew, apparently the commander, stepped forward with his arms raised. "We swore an oath of loyalty to Premier Prokofiev. We will not betray AAAAARGH!"

Honda raised him in the air and shook him like a rag doll until he ran out of breath to continue yelling in alarm. Once she dropped him back into the boat with a painful THUD! he became more compliant.

"Vyraj Island! It's somewhere about a thousand kilometers east of here. The Premier goes there often on his ship the _Tugarin_ , but none of us know why. Please, that is all we know!"

Agent 9 smirked. "Oh, I'm sure you know more that we can use. You're all coming with us!"

The commander laughed unconvincingly, clearly afraid and knowing he was beaten but trying not to let it show. "Under whose authority?"

"A special counsel of the UN finds your government to be in violation of numerous international laws. We'll take you all in for questioning, and I feel pretty safe in saying that Rolisica is going to face some severe sanctions!"

"Agent," said Honda, "You and Takashima can take these boys in. I'm going to Vyraj Island with Godzilla."

"Doctor, you don't even know where the island is, other than…" She gestured broadly toward the eastward sea.

"Oh? Mister G, think you could follow the energy signature from that airship?"

Godzilla looked out to sea for a moment, then nodded.

"I think we'll manage, and anyway we have to try. We don't know how long Prokofiev will remain there and we need to apprehend him before he relocates."

Agent 9 asked, "But how do you plan to follow him if we take the _Shirasagi_?"

Honda laughed. "You should know by now that I can drive anything hands-free!" She turned her attention to the men in the boat. _And as for you_ , she warned them psychically for maximum effect, _you'd better do as you're told, or else!_


	5. THE DEAL IS OFF

Fang was jerked awake by a shrill beep from her earrings sitting on her nightstand. Once she put them on, she was connected directly to her boss through a neural link.

"Good evening, Premier Prokofiev. What is it, an emergency?"

 _The event was infiltrated by the psychic and Godzilla. Now I'm on the run from them!_

"What will you do?"

 _I'm calling in Titanosaurus to protect me on Vyraj Island. He's the only one who has bested Godzilla and survived._

"Ooh, Shinzo's not going to be happy about this! Shall I break the news to him?"

Fang's bedroom door burst open and in walked Shinzo with two guards by his side. "And what news is that, Professor? I assume it has something to do with Titanosaurus leaving his pen?"

"Ah, that! My boss has need of him, and will return him once his mission is complete."

"And when will that be?"

Fang groaned and tugged on her right earring. "Hmm. The Premier offers the same answer you gave us for completion of your ORGA project: eventually!"

Shinzo was just about ready to forget their tenuous professional relationship and break her neck when a third guard shouted from outside, "Captain, the girl is gone!"

Fang stood up to go look, but Shinzo finally pulled his silver pistol on her. "This makes twice tonight that you've disappointed me. Deal or no, strike three will cost your life! Now sit down and try not to completely screw again up from here."

* * *

All personnel on duty were notified of Keiko's disappearance via their handheld radios rather than making an announcement over the intercom. Everyone assumed she was trying to escape, so the first things the guards checked were the exits and any possible hiding spots like vents or storage rooms. For nearly three hours, there was no sign of her, and some were beginning to suspect that she had gotten away.

Hirano decided to double check a place he had already looked, but took a different path to get there which took him near Biollante's containment area. To his great surprise, the control panel had been ripped clean out of the wall, releasing the lock mechanism and opening the door. Hirano whispered into his handheld, "Hirano reporting. Possible forced entry at containment area B-89. Will investigate. Over and out."

What he saw inside he could not have possibly imagined. Keiko had left her wheelchair and was floating in midair, watching Biollante through the observation window. More surprisingly, Biollante appeared to be staring back; her fanged vines faced the window and, though they had no eyes to see, pointed their "faces" toward Keiko. The giant rosebud had begun to bloom, and from somewhere deep within the monster's body, a plaintive cry, like the song of a whale, could be heard.

Unsure of what to do, Hirano aimed his rifle at the floating girl. "You there! What do you think you're doing?"

Keiko turned, still hovering a meter off the ground, and faced Hirano with a defiant scowl. He heard her voice inside his head say, _Don't you know it's rude to interrupt?_

Hirano was hit by an invisible force that hurled him out the door. He collided painfully with the far wall of the corridor just as Shinzo and three guards arrived on the scene. Before they could assess the situation, Keiko's voice was in all of their heads.

 _You can't keep me here anymore! I've become more powerful than any of you will ever be. And you, Hirano! You betrayed me and brought me here to die. You'll pay!_

Hirano was pressed up against the wall by Keiko's telekinesis. She exerted against him, harder and harder, forcing the air from his chest.

Shinzo had brought a gas grenade with him; he tossed it into the observation room, whereupon it burst and released its noxious contents. Keiko gagged and fell to the floor, her concentration broken. Shinzo held his breath and charged in, shooting her with a tranquilizer dart before stepping back out while the vapors dissipated.

Once the air was breathable, the guards entered to take Keiko's unconscious body out with them, all while Biollante continued her mournful cries. Shinzo went to the aid of Hirano, now slumped limply on the floor. "What happened in there?" he asked.

Hirano raised bloodshot eyes and croaked hoarsely, "The girl...she was...communicating with...it!" He pointed a quivering finger at Biollante, whose vine heads remained level with the observation window, gnashing their fangs in protest as Keiko was dragged out.

Shinzo made the connection immediately, and a sinister grin crossed his face. "Another psychic, eh? Impressive!"

Hirano ignored him and pulled himself upright as the guards brought Keiko near. "Little bastard!" he wheezed, raising his rifle butt in preparation to smash her head in.

"No!" shouted Shinzo, wrenching the gun from his hands. "I have a better idea, and if it works out, you may have earned yourself a promotion just for bringing the girl here. Guards, take her to the infirmary! You go, too, Hirano. I'm going to need my new colonel breathing properly and on his feet straight away."

* * *

Yuma had just gotten out of bed and was getting dressed when he heard the latch on his door being drawn back. A guard entered carrying an automatic rifle. "Your presence is requested, Doctor Yuma. Come at once."

Quickly putting on some pants and an undershirt, Yuma followed him out. Professor Fang was in the lab, sipping from a cup of tea. "It's about time," she said with a sneer. "That little friend of yours caused a lot of trouble last night."

A chill ran up Yuma's spine when he noticed Keiko's door standing open. "Oh god!" he muttered. "Is she…?"

The guard nudged him in the back. "You will see. Where is the ORGA formula?"

Yuma reluctantly retrieved a vial from the sample refrigerator. "This is our latest attempt. Whether or not it actually works, well…"

"And the fungal solution?"

"Here. Is this going to be another…?"

"Enough dawdling, Doctor Yuma. Follow me. You, too, Professor. Now!"

They were led down a long corridor that took them by containment area B-89; the control panel to the door was being repaired by two technicians, one of whom kept peeking nervously into the room. Yuma glanced through the door and saw Biollante swaying back and forth as her vines snaked up and down the walls. He could only wonder what had set the creature off.

The guard gave him another nudge, this time harder. "This way, Doctor."

Just down the hall was an elevator, in which the three descended into the deepest parts of the underground base. They got off on the very bottom level, which was actually a colossal cave illuminated with floodlights. There were five metal doors, each thirty meters high. In the center of the cave stood Shinzo, and by his side, Keiko, drooped in her wheelchair.

Yuma ran to his patient. "Keiko!" he moaned as he kneeled in front of the wheelchair and looked into her eyes; she looked back, but did not appear to see him. The doctor stood to face Shinzo, hissing through clenched teeth, "What have you done to her now?"

"Don't be alarmed, Doctor. She is only sedated. As you may have heard, she went on quite an adventure last night. Tell, me: is it true that your friend Honda acquired her psychic powers through contact with Godzilla?"

"Yes. What does this have to do with my patient?"

"It appears little Keiko had a similar experience. She ventured into Biollante's containment area, and we found her floating in the air, putting voices in people's heads."

Yuma was stunned into silence.

"Honda proved too powerful to apprehend and control, but Keiko-chan is all ours. I have big plans for this little one."

Fang scoffed. "Big plans, eh? Nothing too long-term, I hope. The young lady has one foot in the grave, or haven't you noticed?"

Shinzo nodded to the guard who accompanied them in; he approached the half-conscious girl, carrying the vial of ORGA, the fungal solution, and two hypodermic needles.

"NO!" Yuma shouted putting himself between the guard and Keiko. "She could die! I won't let you!"

From behind, Shinzo put one arm around Keiko's neck and held his silver pistol against her temple. "You have only one alternative, Doctor. What shall I do: give her a chance to not only survive but recover, to truly live again, free from this disease she has been fighting for most of her life, or blow her head off?"

Yuma looked back and forth from the gun to the guard's needles. Shinzo was half right; if the ORGA worked, Keiko would live, but at what cost? What was he planning to do to her? And if the formula once again proved fatal, her death would be a thousand times more painful than a bullet to the temple; the latter option almost seemed like the kinder one. This was a no-win scenario. However, not every possibility was equally bleak. There was one slim hope for Keiko's survival. Despite the great pain in Yuma's heart, he relented.

The guard handed him the vials and needles.

"Doctor Yuma," said Shinzo, "won't you do us the honor?"

Reluctantly, Yuma prepared the injections. As he went to administer the fungal solution, he noticed for the first time just how emaciated Keiko was. Despite the excellent diet provided to her at the hospital and the adequate food she received from her captors, her disease had eaten her down to the bone. Her skin was nearly colorless and the veins on her arms looked ready to pop right out. Gingerly, he made the first injection; she did not respond to the prick or the pressure.

Yuma readied the second injection, his mind fixating on all the ways it could go wrong. Keiko's immune system and the G1 might fight each other, just like the lab subject. If the density of the solution was too low, it could go straight to her heart, resulting in cardiac arrest. Protein denaturation. Kidney failure. Necrosis. Stroke. So many painful ways the G1 had proven fatal to previous subjects.

But there was no turning back now. If Yuma stopped, he and Keiko would be killed, and for all he would know, the formula had been perfected and the Red Bamboo would still have what they wanted. With a final groan of self-loathing, he injected her with ORGA.

* * *

Biollante had been trying to reconnect with Keiko psychically, but the girl could not answer her. As the ORGA formula entered Keiko's bloodstream, Biollante sensed the components of Godzilla's biology. The hybrid creature was able to telepathically tap into those cells, influencing them to begin repairing damage and restore vitality without corrupting Keiko's cells.

* * *

Yuma could not believe his eyes. Keiko began to regain her color and body mass within seconds. There were no spasms, no hemorrhaging orifices, no signs of cell death. The ORGA formula was working.

Shinzo clapped, slowly, then faster and more vigorously. "Incredible work, Doctor Yuma. Perfect. Well done."

Fang cleared her throat.

Shinzo did not even look at her, but continued talking. "Now, about those big plans. I told you before about my past creations using ORGA. They could not be controlled using the flawed technology provided to us by Fang's employer. Now we have what we need - or rather, _who_ we need!"

He tapped Keiko on the shoulder, and Yuma knew instantly that he had made a mistake.

Shinzo held up a small remote control and pressed a button. One of the giant metal doors opened vertically. Inside was huge bipedal reptile. It was vaguely reminiscent of Godzilla, but hunched over and with a larger head, leaner torso, and conical spikes in place of jagged plates. Upon seeing the visitors, the monster snarled at them through the bars of its cage, thankfully reinforced by an energy field like the other secure doors in the facility.

"This," Shinzo announced, "is the result of an early experiment to clone Godzilla outright. As you can see, it's not quite the same. The 'god' part seemed a bit excessive for this boy, so we nicknamed him Zilla." He leaned over Keiko's ear and spoke softly, not quite a whisper. "Keiko, why don't you ask Zilla to calm down?"

Zilla stopped his growling and looked toward Keiko in surprised curiosity. The monster lowered himself onto his belly and lay like a dog, all the while staring at this stranger who could speak to him.

Shinzo explained, "As you see, my creations bond with and obey Keiko. With the right dose of sedative, she remains just conscious enough to unquestioningly pass on my instructions to her new friends. Zilla is only one of our creations. I decided to keep four more alive down here in case they were ever needed."

With the remote control, Shinzo opened two more doors, revealing a giant rat and a giant bat. Both had greenish-grey fur, thinner and sparser than was usually seen in either animal, and instead of typical mammalian skin underneath were black reptilian scales.

"Most warm-blooded lab animals did not take well to ORGA. Only these two survived: Deutalios and Bagorah."

The remaining doors opened. Inside the fourth cell was a great mosquito; its proboscis had fang-like teeth around the opening, its limbs ended with distinctly reptilian claws, and the back of its thorax was lined with spikes reminiscent of a thorny lizard. Inside the fifth was an enormous black isopod with green scales on its underbelly and yellow snake-like eyes.

"Skeetera and Shokirus proved that ORGA could work with invertebrates. All of these creatures share Godzilla's extraordinary strength and regenerative powers, and now that I have the means to control them, a question comes to mind." Shinzo finally acknowledged Fang with a condescending smile. "What exactly do I need _you_ for, Professor?"

Fang, usually so brazen in her dealings with the Red Bamboo and its leaders, was now flustered and uncertain. "Why, you…! How dare you! Shinzo, these creatures are all you have against us! My employer can take control of any monster and send it to fight yours!"

"True, but none of them are as powerful as my new creatures. They'll smash any beast you send against us, one by one, until you have none left. Then my army of ORGA-enhanced soldiers will march on your bases, and no gun nor blade shall oppose them."

"Damn you, Shinzo! We had a deal!"

"A deal contingent upon you having something to offer that I could not obtain on my own, which no longer seems to be the case. Although, just for the record, my plan was always to conquer the world, including your simple-minded band of looters and gunrunners. This way, at least we don't have to beat around the bush."

"What will you do to me?"

"That depends. Are you still patched in to your boss?"

Fang played with her earrings again. "Poor signal down here, but he's watching, and he's-"

Shinzo scoffed. "He's what? Interested in offering me a better deal? Perhaps one that gives me some incentive not to move forward with my own plan?"

"He says he will not renegotiate."

"Then he can die, and you with him. Now come with me. You, too, Doctor. I want you both to see the demonstration."

Shinzo, Yuma, and Fang entered the elevator, followed by the guard pushing Keiko behind them. Yuma hated himself for condemning her to a fate worse than death. Fang, meanwhile, was certain of her own impending demise; the only question was whether Shinzo would shoot her in the head, feed her to one of his monsters, use her as a lab rat, or work her to death in the quarries, assuming the other prisoners would not kill her themselves for her part in their suffering.


	6. LIVING WEAPONS

Vyraj Island was a fairly unremarkable rock, just shy of one square kilometer. However, beneath the surface was a hidden automated facility designed and manned by the famous Russian inventor Yakov Arkoff, formerly a leader of the UNMCC's weapons and defense technologies program. Arkoff had done business with Prokofiev and other black market weapons dealers in the past; once he was caught, Prokofiev offered him sanctuary in exchange for his services, mostly creating machines and weapons based on the alien technology he helped reverse engineer for Project M.

 _Tugarin,_ Prokofiev's personal plasma-powered ship, dove beneath the waves and came to a rest in the facility's underwater hangar. He had relayed an update to Arkoff and his advisors elsewhere, using the same neural link technology he used to keep in touch with Professor Fang; while her transmitters were in her earrings, Arkoff attached his to his necktie, and Prokofiev had the technology integrated into the vast network of electronics inside his body.

Arkoff was waiting for Prokofiev in the hangar when he arrived. The inventor shook his head upon seeing the damage to the cyborg's body. "Premier," he said, "I really think we should run a full-system diagnostic in order to-"

Prokofiev cut him off. "I know what a full-system diagnostic is, Mister Arkoff. We don't have time. Are the gravitational manipulators ready?"

"Yes, sir, but-"

"Mister Arkoff, need I remind you what is at stake today? Our buyers have been scared off, the Red Bamboo have turned on us, and now the psychic is on her way. Install the devices and let us worry about superficial damage later."

"Very well, sir." As the two men headed for the laboratory, Arkoff asked, "Any further updates from Professor Fang?"

"The monsters on Devil's Island are still under our control, but Shinzo has threatened to destroy them with his mutants. I don't want to launch a full-scale assault on their facility, because there may yet be a chance of recovering Doctor Yuma's formula, but if the mutants attack, turn our assets against them. I'll be damned if I let that one-eyed bastard put me out of business! Now, Mister Arkoff, let's see to those upgrades!"

* * *

Honda found flying a fighter jet via telekinesis to be slightly more challenging than she had hoped; keeping it steady was tricky, and going too fast caused great strain on the aircraft's structure. She managed to keep pace with Godzilla on the trip to Vyraj Island, but overshot the rock when they finally got there. Godzilla, swimming with his head beneath the waves, noticed the underwater structure and called her back.

She circled the island for a few minutes, trying to spot a means of ingress, before setting down. As she exited the jet, she was abruptly lifted into the air and thrown several meters. Honda scrambled to her feet and looked around. Prokofiev had emerged from a passageway hidden among the rocks, and where his left hand once was, he now had a metallic extension resembling the barrel of an energy cannon. Honda tried to stand up, but Prokofiev's new device emitted a yellow light that lifted her off the ground and immobilized her.

Prokofiev chuckled and began to pontificate. "Transhumanism! A concept with which you are surely familiar, Doctor. You became a psychic by chance, not by any merit of your own. I, on the other hand, had to earn it, and now I have become your match."

With a grunt of exertion, he slung Honda high into the air and released her, allowing the momentum to carry her in an arc over his head. She tried using her telekinesis to break her fall, but he ensnared her once again and resumed his monologue.

"Whoever you think left these toys laying around - Seatopia, alien visitors, gnomes, what have you - the ingenuity is incredible! With a few choice improvements of my own, I have now unlocked both telepathy and telekinesis, or at least the next best thing."

Prokofiev rotated Honda in the air and slowly pulled her closer to him as he continued.

"Now I have as much power as you, and soon, the whole world will want this power, too! What do you think of that, young lady?"

 _First off, I think you overstate the comparison, old man._

Prokofiev's concentration was broken by a fierce pain in his head. He lost his grip on Honda, but as soon as she had her footing, he was on her again. This time, she was able to resist to an extent; she could not step toward him, but he could not lift her off the ground.

 _Second, I would hardly consider the scavenging of others' work 'earning' your accomplishments. I didn't choose to have these powers, but I use them to help mankind survive, not to tear itself apart._

"You smug bitch!" grunted Prokofiev. "You act all high and mighty, but at the end of the day, you're just a tool of the UN, and you follow their orders rather than your own path!"

 _I work with the UN because I believe they want to do good, and I challenge them whenever they fail to do so. And if war-profiteering is the extent of your vision for the future, maybe your own path isn't so special._

Prokofiev yelled and ramped up the gravitational manipulator to maximum power, causing a burst of energy that sent Honda rolling away. He laughed scornfully. "An apologist to the end. Pitiful! The real future is one free from delusions of morality, in which the only thing that matters is power. That future will soon be upon us." Behind him, the water rose up as something huge broke the surface. Prokofiev grinned as he recognized the warbling cackle of his favorite pet. "Soon the old gods of nations and religions will fall, and the titans will rise to take their place. Behold, the new god of the seas: Titanosaurus!"

Honda's terror at the sight of the red behemoth was interrupted by a brief giggle.

Prokofiev was stumped. "What? What's so funny? Stop it! Why are you laughing?"

"See, this is what I mean by a lack of creativity! If you'd consulted a paleontologist, such as yours truly, you'd know that the name 'titanosaurus' is taken. Also, I'd recommend running your metaphors by someone with a better grasp of Greek mythology. Lastly..."

"You're beginning to annoy me, Doctor!"

"Fine, then. Let's get this over with."

Godzilla exploded from the water behind Honda and leapt clear over the island, crashing headlong into Titanosaurus. As the aquatic monsters clashed, Honda and Prokofiev continued their own duel.

* * *

Fang, Yuma, and Shinzo watched from the ledge over the base as a concealed tunnel in the cliff face opened and the five mutants emerged. The prisoners toiling in the quarry threw down their tools and fled for their lives. Kong, Komodithrax, and Ookondoru moved to block the path of the newcomers. Four more giant monsters - a centipede, a wasp, a cobra, and a diplocaulus - joined them from the other side of the mountain. Both sides sized each other up, showing off their teeth, muscles, claws, and wings.

Shinzo chuckled, thoroughly impressed with his work. "Tell me, Professor, does your esteemed employer, or one of his other underlings, still have their thumb on the override switch for the monster control?"

"Yes."

"Good." He yanked on Fang's left ear, causing her to wince. "To whoever's listening, go ahead and push that button so we can get the real show started! Now, Keiko, how about telling your new friends to stand up to those big bullies?"

Within seconds, Devil's Island was one big monster wrestling ring. Zilla and Kong pummeled one another with their powerful limbs. The cobra and centipede wrapped themselves around Deutalios. Komodithrax and the diplocaulus pinned Shokirus down and began prying its carapace open. Two mid-air battles broke out simultaneously: Bagorah against Ookondoru, and Skeetera against the wasp.

At first, the two factions seemed evenly matched, with the mutants possessing greater individual strength and agility but the other side having the numerical advantage. Ironically, the first casualty occurred when the latter killed one of their own. The centipede tried to deliver its venomous bite to Deutalios, but the rodent rolled over at the last instant, and instead the cobra was bitten by accident. The serpent thrashed violently about as it died, throwing the other two combatants aside. Deutalios was on the centipede in a flash, crushing its head in his jaws.

The match was now five-to-five. Skeetera received a potent sting from the wasp and lost altitude rapidly, but steadied herself before reaching the ground. The venom weakened her, but it could not kill her, and the wound was repairing itself rapidly. The wasp, thinking it had crippled its rival, joined Ookondoru in her fight against Bagorah, but the bat was faster than either of them and kept them flying in circles in a fruitless chase.

Kong stunned Zilla with a blow to the temple, then turned to kick Deutalios aside mid-charge. Both mutants were back on him right away, forcing the king of apes to put his name to the test, using every move he knew to keep his opponents at bay.

Shokirus broke free from the diplocaulus and Komodithrax; he thrust his blood siphon into the former's back and began sucking its life fluid, even as the latter continued prying apart the segments of his armor, which regenerated far more slowly than any other part of his body.

Skeetera finally recovered from the wasp's sting and took her revenge, rushing the other insect from below and stabbing its thorax with her proboscis, which had extra piercing power thanks to the teeth-like structures on the end. Both fell from the sky together, but only Skeetera was still alive when they hit the ground.

Komodithrax finally scored the first kill for her side as she breached Shokirus' armor and bit hard enough to rupture his exoskeleton, along with several internal organs. The giant louse slumped down atop the diplocaulus, which itself now had an ashen complexion from catastrophic blood loss. Komodithrax's victory had not come soon enough for her ally, and now they were outnumbered four to three.

Bagorah spun around to confront Ookondoru just as the big bird was tiring out. He slashed at her right wing, ripping out multiple primary feathers. Ookondoru was unable to maintain her balance in the air; free to press his advantage, Bagorah grasped her neck in his foot claws and lifted her close for a bite to the head, but she broke free and gashed his chest with her beak. The bat gave a shriek of pain, the high frequency of which momentarily deafened and disoriented the bird. Bagorah made another attempt to ensnare her, this time by the wings from behind. He leaned in, showing the full length of his teeth, and ripped out Ookondoru's throat.

Kong and Komodithrax were the only remaining members of their side. Even with their independent wills suppressed by Prokofiev's technology, something resembling fear crept into their minds as they stood back to back, watching the four surviving mutants circle them.

* * *

Fighting off one Titanosaurus proved more difficult than two cryptocliduses. He was just as strong as Godzilla but also faster and more agile; so exceptional were his reflexes that the instant Godzilla fired his atomic ray, Titanosaurus was gone from its path, changing course with such speed it was impossible for his opponent to predict where he would be a second later and lead his shot accordingly.

Titanosaurus had two main offensive weapons: his fierce teeth atop a long-reaching neck and a powerful rudder-like fin at the end of his tail. He would take a chomp with the one and give a slap with the other, forcing Godzilla to use all of his energy to just barely keep up. His healing factor could preserve him, but if he lost consciousness, he might be captured for dissection or pumped full of cadmium.

The fight up top was more evenly matched. Prokofiev's gravitational manipulation device was almost a match for Honda's telekinesis, but she could invade his mind and disrupt his concentration. At one point, she probed him about how much of his nether regions had been replaced with machinery, and in his indignation, he became distracted, letting her break free. Honda telekinetically pushed him to the ground, but at the same moment he let out a blast of energy that sent her hurtling backward, catching herself at the last moment before striking the rocks.

Prokofiev scrambled to his feet and prepared another charge, but Honda targeted the device and raised it straight up. Now that she was free from his grasp, she held out both hands, one toward his arm and the other toward his shoulder; using those vectors to guide her mental energy, she pulled in opposing directions, ripping the device out of his body, then let him fall to the ground.

Helpless against his foe, Prokofiev sank to his knees, holding out his arms as he begged for his life. "Please! Spare me! I don't want to die!"

 _And I don't want to kill you. Tell me where Adam is!_

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

 _Doctor Yuma. Where did you take him?_

"I swear I don't know what you're talking about!"

Honda remembered what Agent 9 had said about extracting the truth from someone's mind, and decided to try it out now. She reached deep into Prokofiev's mind; his brain appeared to be the one part of his body left largely unaltered, so she was able to probe away. She came across some interesting audiovisual information - a memory, it seemed. She saw a man with an eyepatch and a lanky woman in a black coat. Something was said concerning a deal.

Prokofiev cried out in pain. "Stop it! Get out of my head!"

Honda ignored his pleas and delved deeper. The one-eyed man asked about Titanosaurus and mentioned a formula.

"God dammit! Please! My head hurts!"

The memory continued to play out. The one-eyed man spoke at length, but his voice was garbled and his face became a blur. Prokofiev screamed. Honda caught two names, Shinzo and Fang, before the memory disappeared completely.

Suddenly, Honda was out again. At first she thought Prokofiev had used some kind of defense mechanism to push her out, but then she saw him kneeling there, blood pouring from his nose and his ears while the rest of his body twitched unnaturally. After a short time, the movement stopped and he froze in place, not falling over; the light in Prokofiev's exposed mechanical eye slowly faded to black, but the organic eye was still intact and remained open, staring at her but not seeing.

Honda was horrified. She had avoided deep-probing a human mind before precisely because she feared it might hurt someone; she had no idea it would be fatal.

From the facility's control room, Arkoff watched Prokofiev's vital readings on a monitor and saw them crash. He panicked at the idea of being taken alive. There was a fair chance he would be executed for treason; the next most likely outcome was life imprisonment, but he knew enough to be a cause for concern among Prokofiev's surviving forces and many others who had done business with them over the years, and they would see to hs elimination sooner or later. Arkoff's only chance of survival was to flee, make contact with Prokofiev's second-in-command Colonel Kashirin, and plead for mercy. However, Godzilla and Titanosaurus were still fighting outside, making an escape attempt too dangerous for the moment. He decided to take a less risky approach.

The monster control device was a crude recreation of the M11 computer retrieved from the alien wreck, albeit with a significantly less advanced artificial intelligence. Arkoff disconnected its power supply and hunkered down to watch the security feeds, waiting anxiously for his opportunity to escape.

Titanosaurus was charging Godzilla for another assault when he abruptly stopped and floated in place. Godzilla prepared to fire another atomic blast, but stopped when he realized his opponent was not attacking. He then became aware of a new psychic presence. Titanosaurus, no longer under the influence of Arkoff's machine, was back to his normal self.

Godzilla reached into Titanosaurus' mind and was surprised by what he found. Most monsters would resist being telepathically read, or at the very least react with anger or defensiveness at his presence. Titanosaurus showed no such ill temper; in fact, he was grateful to be free from the device's control and somehow understood that Godzilla was in a way responsible for his liberation. More impressive still, he had something to offer in gratitude.

* * *

Fang was not actively interfacing with Prokofiev at the moment of his demise, but she felt the signal go dead on the other end. As she was wondering what could have gone wrong, another surprising thing occurred: Kong and Komodithrax dropped their defensive stances and stood motionless.

"What happened?" asked Shinzo, puzzled and somewhat disappointed. "Why aren't they fighting?"

A voice came over Shinzo's walkie-talkie. _"Okabe to Shinzo. Okabe to Shinzo. Come in, Shinzo."_

"Shinzo here. What's going on?"

" _The override signal has terminated. We now have control over the monsters again."_

Shinzo looked to Fang for an explanation. She shook her head in confusion. "I can't reach the Premier. She must have gotten to him."

"Who?"

"Honda, the psychic. She chased him to his hideout and-"

"WHAT?!" Shinzo grabbed Fang by the neck and drew her close, shouting in her face. "She's involved in this? And you knew and didn't tell me?!"

Fang knew there was no answer, true or fabricated, that would satisfy Shinzo, let alone improve her chances of survival at that point. However, for just a moment, she saw something familiar in the expression on his face: she had made him afraid again. It was a feeling that she had always delighted in, and though he held the upper hand now, she had managed to light one last little fire under his self-aggrandizing ass. Revelling in this tiny victory, Fang spat in Shinzo's eye and laughed maniacally, even as he ripped out her earrings and shoved her into the arms of two nearby guards.

"Take her away!" he yelled. "Let her dig in the quarry night and day! No rest, no water, no food! Go! Get her out of my sight!"

Yuma sidled nervously up to Keiko, placing a concerned hand on her shoulder. She stirred slightly; the sedative was wearing off. He whispered in her ear, "Keiko! Can you hear me? It's me, Doctor Yuma."

Shinzo turned on them. "You!" he hissed, pausing briefly to catch his breath and calm his tone. "You, on the other hand, are going back to the lab to fix up another batch of ORGA."

"What about my patient?"

"She's no longer your patient; you have cured her and ought to be proud of that fact. Let us handle it from here."

"Where will you take her?"

Shinzo brandished his pistol. "I'm in no mood to play twenty questions. Back to your quarters, Doctor - now!"

* * *

Honda sat and stared at Prokofiev's body for several minutes. The fact that she had killed someone - even by accident, and even a man so vicious - weighed on her chest like an anchor. It was a completely new feeling for her. Honda's powers had been increasing exponentially for a long time now; her meeting with the Wise Ones and the pendant they gave her brought her peace of mind. Now, however, she was once again afraid of what she could do.

Her rumination was interrupted when Godzilla broke the surface and spoke to her. _Friend_! _This is a new friend. He will help us._

 _New friend?_ Honda turned around and was surprised to see Titanosaurus by his side.

 _He saw friend Adam. He will take us to him._

Honda forgot her guilt for a moment. At long last, they had a definitive lead. _Where is he?_

 _An island where bad men are making him do their bad work. They control many other monsters with machines in their heads._

 _What about him?_ asked Honda, nodding toward Titanosaurus. _Doesn't he have a machine in his head?_

Titanosaurus leaned his neck forward and used one of his long claws to prod at a scar on the back of his head. Honda held out her hand toward the scar; using her powers, she could feel the device inside his head. It was about the size of a watermelon, and it was active. Titanosaurus continued to prod at it until he broke the skin.

 _Wait!_ said Honda. _Godzilla, please tell him to wait. He could really hurt himself if he tries to dig it out. I'll do it._

Titanosaurus stopped and looked at her. He did not have Godzilla's level of intelligence, but like a dog, he was smart enough to understand trust and empathy.

Honda felt for the device again and found it. Fortunately, it was not implanted into his brain but embedded below the skin, presumably for ease of access and signal clarity. Honda carefully pulled the device out and pulled it toward her so she could see it. On the outside, it looked like a solid metal sphere, save for a notch on one side. She put her finger in the notch and pried it open. Inside was a rotating red orb covered in blinking lights, just like she had seen inside the M11 computer. With a disdainful "Ack!" she used her telekinesis to crush it.

Godzilla opened his mouth and let out some sparks of blue fire; they glistened against the back of Titanosaurus' head, causing him momentary pain but cauterizing his wound. Both monsters looked to Honda for instructions. She smiled and said out loud, "Let's get the team together and crash us a party!"

The three of them left together, unaware of Arkoff's submersible racing off the in opposite direction.

* * *

Shinzo walked with the guards as they wheeled Keiko away. As they passed Biollante's cell, her vines shrieked and pounded on the window, scaring away the technicians who were making the final repairs on the outer door.

"Wait!" said Shinzo to the guards. "Did you see that?" Worried that the mutant might break free from her container, he whispered in Keiko's ear. "Won't you please ask our flowery friend to relax?"

Biollante stopped her tantrum for just a moment, but she could tell that Keiko's words were not her own. Angrily, she shrieked even louder. Her vines reached toward the window and sprayed them with green, viscous fluids. The glass began to melt, as did the metal over and under.

Shinzo ran inside and frantically entered a code onto the control panel by the inner door. "It seems," he grumbled under his breath, "that you have finally outlived your usefulness!"

As the final key was pressed, there were bright flashes and harsh crackling noises from within Biollante's chamber. Shinzo hurried outside and sealed the door.

Throughout the base, the lights flickered as power was directed away from non-essential electronics to energize the emergency destruction system for Biollante's chamber. She was bathed in high-intensity nuclear energy that destroyed her cells faster than they could regenerate. Her vines withered away, her trunk grew brittle, and her rosebud, still not quite in bloom, wilted away.

Once the lights returned, Shinzo opened the door and stepped inside. Biollante had been burned to a crisp. With a laugh, he returned to Keiko and whispered, "I don't know if you can hear me or not, but if you are, just know that you are mine, and if you ever do wake up with some idea to oppose me, I'll disintegrate you just like any of my other freaks!"

However, unbeknownst to Shinzo, there were many living cells amidst the ashes of Biollante. The water pool for her roots was drained, soaking into the soil below. The surviving cells were carried out with the water and began to regrow in a new form.


	7. RESCUE

Fang was stripped of her black coat and given an ill-fitting coverall. As she was walked through the prison, other prisoners leaned out from their cells to spit and shout curses at her. She did her best to ignore them; their taunts were the least of her concerns, and fighting or otherwise disrupting the dig was the quickest way to ensure that a prisoner was fed to the monsters or hauled off to the labs to be used as a test subject.

Upon her arrival at the quarry, Fang was given a pickaxe and sent to the bottom tier of the dig, where the stone was densest and chunks of debris from the upper areas constantly rolled down onto her. Every swing of the axe sent jolts of pain up her arms and down her back. Every drop of water in her body seemed determined to escape through her sweat glands.

Fang knew she would not last more than a day under such conditions, but she also knew that she would not have to. If Honda had tracked Prokofiev to Vyraj Island and defeated him, there was a fair chance that she had learned of her dear friend Yuma's whereabouts and would be upon them shortly, along with her radioactive companion and an entire army. Fang giggled to herself, knowing that they would take her alive; her knowledge of the Seekers and their network was too valuable to lose, regardless of all she had done. Shinzo, so stubborn and proud in his ways, would sooner put that ever-polished gun barrel in his mouth and swallow than be laid a hand on. He would die with nothing to show for it, and she would have the last laugh.

The pickaxe became wedged for a moment. Fang pressed a leg against the rock and pried it out. A meter-long crack formed and something fell out. Pretending to slip and fall, she dropped to her hands and knees to snatch up the tiny object. After examining it with a smile, she stuffed it down her top and continued to dig. She would be gone from Devil's Island soon, and now she had found one more excuse to revel in Shinzo's defeat.

* * *

Meanwhile, Yuma was preparing another sample of ORGA for transfusion. worked to recreate the ORGA formula he had used on Keiko, with Shinzo breathing down his neck all the while. As far as either of them knew, the formula had finally worked; neither could have guessed that Biollante's telepathy was the true cause of Keiko's amazing recovery.

Once a blood solution was successfully created and placed in the refrigerator to cool, Yuma took a seat and drank some water. "General," he said, "you still haven't explained what will become of me when my work here is done."

Shinzo sighed. "You know full well that I can't just let you go back to your normal life."

"I know. I guess...I'm just not sure what else you could possibly threaten me with now that you've taken everything from me, and you're not going to offer me anything in return, I assume."

"You're still alive, aren't you? Is that not good enough?"

"I'm starting to wonder."

Shinzo smirked. "How about this: if you continue to help us, perhaps make some more monsters for me so I don't have to rely on someone else's technology, then once the Red Bamboo rule the world, I'll let you continue to serve me as a scientific advisor in the new order. You'll never need to worry about funding again."

"That's...well, it's certainly not the worst offer I've ever been made. I may just accept it."

"Wait, really? You surprise me, Doctor! I expected you would need more convincing than that."

"Are you disappointed?"

"Well, no. Just...surprised. Surely you realize that there will be no room for many of your friends in the world we create."

"Just tell me: will you spare Kumi's life?"

"Who?"

"Sorry. Doctor Honda. She's my best friend - and Japanese, you know! I'd think if anyone has shown the world how strong the Japanese can be, it's her."

"Ah. Well, that's complicated. It is because she is so powerful that I don't think we could tame her, and I doubt she'd join us voluntarily."

"You could always ask her yourself when she gets here."

"When she gets here?"

The base's intercom crackled to life. _"Attention all personnel! Godzilla and three other monsters have been spotted nearby! They are heading straight for us!"_

Shinzo glared at Yuma. "How did you know?"

"She's psychic, remember? I got her message about five minutes ago." Yuma smiled with derision. "You didn't _really_ think I was dumb enough to buy that offer of yours, did you?"

With a bellow of pure rage, Shinzo struck the scientist a blow to the head with his pistol, dropping him to the floor. "You piece of shit! You'll never escape here alive, and neither will your impetuous friend!" He dragged Yuma into his room and locked him in, slamming the bolt in place. "Now," Shinzo muttered, cocking his pistol, "to prepare a reception for our new guests!"

* * *

On her way over, Honda had stopped by Kirk Island to enlist the help of some friends: Lieutenant Dunham, Anguirus, and Rodan. Now, with four monsters accompanying them, Honda and Dunham bore down on Devil's Island in the aircraft _Griffon_.

"There, Doc!" said Dunham, pointing to the island as it came into view. "Are you sure that's where they took Doctor Yuma?"

"I know he's there. I can feel him."

"Yeah, about that. Did I miss the memo about you reading people's minds now? I thought I was going crazy when I heard your voice in my head; you scared the piss out of me!"

"Whoops! I'm so sorry I forgot to bring you up to speed first!"

"Any other weird new powers I should know about?"

"Well, I can move stuff with my mind, like that plane I flew to Kirk Island. Is that weird enough for you?"

Dunham shook his head in confusion. "Pretty damn weird, Doc. You can tell me more about it later, though. Looks like the welcoming committee is here to meet us!"

An immense dark mass beneath the water came rushing out toward them. Honda could sense that the mass was actually four different monsters swimming toward them in unison. One of them sprang from the water and attacked Rodan; the creature was similar in appearance to a devil ray, but its fins had evolved to become more wing-like, allowing it to remain airborne and chase Rodan about, albeit with not as much speed. The _Griffon_ was forced to climb higher to avoid their duel.

Godzilla reared his head from the water just as the second monster showed its face: a red crustacean with legs and body like a shrimp and the intimidating claws of a lobster, which it latched onto Godzilla's arms before using its strong tail to roll backward, tossing him into the air to smash headfirst into the water.

The third and fourth monsters - a placoderm and a long-necked snapping turtle - went after Titanosaurus and Anguirus respectively. Honda and Dunham watched anxiously as the clashing monsters turned the sea into a furious maelstrom in which it was impossible to tell who was who, let alone who was winning.

The chaos was visible from the island; even the prisoners in the quarry could see it. Kong and Komodithrax, the only remaining monsters above ground (the mutants having long since returned to their cave), made their way to the beach to watch the battle, ready to intervene should Godzilla and his allies reach shore.

With the monsters no longer tending to them, the quarry had only about two dozen guards keeping watch. The prisoners exchanged excited glances and, without needing a single word, seized their tools and attacked. The guards were armed with rifles, but these could not save them from hundreds of shovels and pickaxes.

Galvanized by their first victory, the prisoners swarmed back into the base, hellbent on two things: revenge and freedom! Fang watched them go, but did not follow; instead, she returned to her cell and lay on her bed, cradling the little trinket she had found. It would all be over soon, and then she could get on her way.

* * *

Shinzo was rushing to the infirmary, where Keiko was being kept under sedation and observed, when another announcement was made on the intercom: _"Red alert! Red alert! The prisoners have rioted and are storming the lower levels."_

"God dammit!" he grunted, pulling out his walkie talkie to send out orders. "All personnel, this is General Shinzo. Arm yourselves and prepare to fight. Lethal force authorized. I repeat: lethal force authorized."

Shinzo sprinted to the infirmary. Hirano awaited him at the door, bandaged up and pushing Keiko in her wheelchair. However, just then a nearby elevator opened and two prisoners emerged, carrying automatic weapons taken from guards they had killed. Shinzo was quick on the draw; before the elevator door had fully opened, he had drawn his high-caliber pistol and hit one of the gun-toting prisoners between the eyes, nearly taking his head off. Another shot dispatched the second man, but not before he had unleashed a short burst of rounds.

Shinzo screamed and fell to the floor with several bullets in his torso. Hirano rushed to his aid, but the general pushed him away. "Leave me be!."

"But General, you're bleeding-"

"I have a plan, dammit!" Shinzo pulled himself back onto his feet with a groan.

Five soldiers came rushing down the hall, hoping to take the elevator to the lower levels and assist in controlling the prisoners. Shinzo waved them down.

"You men! Accompany Keiko and Hirano to the outdoor observation platform and wait for me there!" He leaned over Keiko and whispered in her ear, "The mean people are coming to get you, Keiko. Don't let them take you! Tell your friends to subdue them!"

Shinzo dragged himself back to the lab, refusing any assistance from the personnel he saw along the way. Upon his arrival, he found that the ORGA solution had settled and was ready for use. He prepared a needle, removed his jacket and, with a few tense breaths of anticipation, injected himself.

Every nerve in his body lit up like fireworks. His head throbbed, especially around his blind eye. The gunshot wounds in his chest burned. His heart pumped so hard and the blood ran so hot in his veins that it was like having a volcano inside him. Shinzo feared that his body would tear itself apart like the test subjects before him.

PING.

Shinzo looked down at the floor and saw a crushed bullet lying there.

PING.

Another round popped out from his torso as the flesh regenerated, and one by one, the unwelcome bits of metal were expelled. As the pain in his head subsided, Shinzo felt a surprising sensation in his left eye. In disbelief, he removed the eyepatch and looked around; the eye was healed and his stereoscopic vision was restored.

An incredible rush came over him, and Shinzo felt that he could take on an entire army single-handedly. Renewed and reinvigorated, he stormed out of the lab, eager to fight again.

Yuma, having regained consciousness, heard Shinzo through the bolted door and surmised what had occurred. _Kumi_ , he said silently, _Shinzo has taken the ORGA. If we don't stop him soon, he could become invincible!_

* * *

Honda heard the message and was horrified. With Shinzo stomping about the base with such tremendous power, getting inside to rescue Yuma and Keiko would be extraordinarily dangerous.

Below, the fighting grew intense. The crustacean Ebirah was strong and fast enough to hold his own against Godzilla, flipping and spinning him around with ease while dodging his energy attacks. Kamoebas, the turtle, had jaws like a steel trap, which she clamped around Anguirus' tail, preventing him from striking her with his club; she dragged him about with her strong neck, forcing him to remain underwater, fighting for breath. Worse still was the armored beak of the placoderm Haibanyora, embedded in Titanosaurus' shoulder; although the dinosaur had his own teeth sunk firmly into the fish's dorsal fin, he feared to pull too hard and have the fish take his arm off. Rodan and Moburas the flying ray were more evenly-matched physically, and while the former had the advantage in speed, he could not land a solid strike; Moburas would dive back into the water, only to reemerge an instant later and propel himself back into the air.

The ultimate deciding factor in the battle was luck. As Ebirah flipped him over again, Godzilla let loose a radioactive blast that missed but hit Moburas instead, blowing him out of the sky. Rodan, now free of his pursuer, took a dive at Haibanyora, plunging his beak into the fish's brain; the slain beast's jaws went slack, allowing Titanosaurus to break free. After looking over his wound to be sure it was nothing too serious, Titanosaurus darted to the seafloor and slashed at Kamoebas' neck with his claws, forcing her to release her grip on Anguirus' tail. Finally, Anguirus approached Ebirah, who had Godzilla pinned down, and swung his tail club against one of the crustacean's claws, shattering it. Ebirah attempted to pull away, but Godzilla seized his remaining claw and wrenched it out of its socket before blinding him with another blast of energy.

With two of the sentries dead and the other two incapacitated, Godzilla and his team advanced on Devil's Island to face the remaining monsters.

* * *

Red Bamboo HQ was in all-out chaos. The prisoners had broken into the armory and were now tearing through the base. Though they spoke many different languages, they seemed to have an understanding that they would defeat these terrorists even if it cost their own lives. The Red Bamboo had the benefit of combat training, but they faced a more determined foe with significantly greater numbers and little concern for their own survival.

Shinzo joined a small squad of troops protecting the research area. The general killed many prisoners with ease, but the prisoners swarmed the area in such numbers that his ammo supply was rapidly exhausted, and the other soldiers were under-equipped, as well, forcing them to retreat.

However, Shinzo would not give up so easily. Throwing down his gun, he leaped into the midst of the oncomers and pummeled them ferociously, landing every blow with bone-crunching force. The prisoners dared not use their guns at such close range for fear of killing each other, but many still had pickaxes and shovels with which to strike. Even these could not stop Shinzo, as their blades glanced harmlessly off his body. Soon it was the prisoners who were on the run.

Shinzo turned to his subordinates. "Go to the monster control center. Protect the machine with your lives!" The troops' jaws hung slack as they gawked at him. He assumed they were simply astonished to see that he had both eyes again. "Yes, Doctor Yuma's formula worked. Now, get moving!"

The men backed away anxiously and ran in the opposite direction. Shinzo was surprised, but he was determined to see the battle against Godzilla from the observation platform. He found the nearest elevator and pressed a button. He noticed as he extended his hand that the skin had turned grey, the fingers were longer and thicker, and the nails had become clawlike.

The elevator door opened a moment later and Shinzo stepped inside. Once the lift was on its way to the top, he looked down to see that his shirt had been almost ripped off by a pickaxe, and his exposed chest had taken on a similar mutated appearance. In fact, more than just having turned grey, his skin appeared to have transformed into reptilian scales.

A dreadful revelation came over him. He had not taken a dose of the anti-radiation mold before injecting the formula. When he destroyed Biollante earlier, he must have been briefly exposed to radiation through the melting window, and now the ORGA was feeding on that energy, growing out of control. He feared the result would be fatal…or worse.

* * *

From the overlook, Keiko's nurse and guards watched and awaited the coming battle under the setting sun. The hidden tunnels opened up, and Skeetera, Deutalios, Bagorah, and Zilla emerged to join Kong and Komodithrax in defending the beach. Keiko watched half-consciously, not really seeing the events below. From under the ground, Biollante continued to call out to her; the plant creature could sense that Keiko's mind had been weakened and was trying to break through to her.

Dunham, watching from the _Griffon_ , was repulsed by the mutants. "Ack! What are those goddamn things?"

"Shinzo's monsters," replied Honda. "According to Adam, they've been experimenting with Godzilla's cells to harness his healing factor - 'ORGA', I think he called it."

As Godzilla and his team reached the shore, he tried to communicate with the mutants. _You don't need to fight us! We are only here to save a friend._

Zilla roared defiantly. He understood, but did not believe; he had formed a bond with Keiko and was determined to protect her.

And so the fight for Devil's Island ensued. Kong and Zilla, being the two strongest of the Red Bamboo's minions, lunged at Godzilla and attacked him on both sides. Bagorah and Skeetera took to the skies in pursuit of Rodan. Deutalios grappled with Titanosaurus, Komodithrax with Anguirus.

Godzilla managed to throw Kong off of him and delivered an atomic blast directly to Zilla's face; the clone recoiled in pain but recovered almost instantly. Then something unexpected happened: Zilla's dorsal spikes flashed with light, and a jet of green flame shot from his mouth. Godzilla and his clone continued to battle, exchanging fierce blows and blasts of energy.

Kong regained his feet and saw Titanosaurus gash Deutalios' belly open with his claws - not a fatal wound with the effects of ORGA, but enough to incapacitate him temporarily. The great ape intervened before the dinosaur could do more damage, seizing his long neck with his mighty hands. Titanosaurus struggled to break free, lashing out with claws and tail, but Kong would not release him, and soon the monstrous grip around his windpipe caused him to pass out.

Rodan managed to down Skeetera by tearing off one of her wings, but Bagorah was another story. He was the only monster Rodan had ever encountered who could match his speed in the air. The mutant bat attacked as he pleased, striking with claws and fangs before dodging away. At one point, Rodan managed to jab his beak into Bagorah's neck, inflicting a wound that would have caused any other creature to bleed out and die, but the ORGA repaired the damage before significant blood loss could occur. Bagorah swooped in and struck Rodan's wing, slashing the membrane nearly all the way down. The great pterosaur could not keep himself in the air on only one wing; he dropped like a stone and hit the ground hard, knocking himself out.

Anguirus curled up into a spiked ball and rolled about, striking anything in his way. Komodithrax was nearly crushed but escaped with many painful cuts and bruises. Deutalios, having recovered from Titanosaurus' attack, braced himself as Anguirus rolled toward him; using his body as a barricade, the rat stopped his rolling attack without significant injury. Once Anguirus had been halted, Komodithrax and Deutalios tried to pry him open; this took considerable effort and the ankylosaur was able to shake them off and curl up again twice. However, once Kong joined them, they were able to pull his legs apart and hold him flat on his back. Anguirus squirmed and swung his club, giving Deutalios a terrible crack on the skull. Skeetera, having regenerated most of its injured wing, landed on Anguirus' exposed belly and jabbed him with her proboscis, draining his blood until he, too, was unconscious.

Honda observed that the enemy monsters were not killing her team, but subduing them, perhaps to add them to Shinzo's forces. With only Godzilla left standing against six opponents, and struggling hard enough to beat just Zilla, she feared that they would have to abandon the fight.

Keiko's chaperones were glad to see the mutants making such short work of their unwelcome guests, but they worried about Shinzo, who had still not arrived to join them from the overlook. They were beginning to suspect that he had succumbed to his injuries when the elevator door opened up behind them and out stepped…

Something.

Shinzo was no longer recognizable save for his tattered clothes and the scars on his face and head. Every inch of skin was covered in rough grey scales that gave him a rock-like appearance. His digits had fused so that he now had three toes on each foot and two fingers plus a thumb on each hand. His face had flattened and his mouth became longer, wrapping as far back as his shrunken ears. His eyes were yellow and beady. His back had become hunched and his tailbone had grown into an actual tail, albeit short and useless.

The mutated Shinzo moaned in agony as his body continued to twist and distort. He staggered toward Hirano, arms wide open, begging for help, but his voice had been reduced to unintelligible grunts and the others backed off, keeping their distance from him. Shinzo's face begin to stretch outward, forming a more draconian appearance, while the arch in his back became all the more pronounced. The indescribable pain and rapid changes to Shinzo's already cumbersome form rendered him clumsy, and he stumbled forward until he rolled right off the ledge. He plummeted down the side of the cliff landed somewhere in the shadows below where he could not be seen from above.

* * *

The prisoner revolt had ravaged most of the Red Bamboo base and showed no signs of slowing. Inevitably, the fighting reached the command center, both doors of which were protected by soldiers operating mounted, belt-fed machine guns, plus eight additional armed personnel. In the center of the room was the control device for the monsters, another half-sized approximation of the M11 computer. The guards inside were under orders to defend the machine at any cost.

Dozens of prisoners were mowed down as they tried to enter, but they were determined to get inside. One prisoner in the back of the crowd yelled at the top of his lungs to get everyone else's attention; he had procured a bandolier of grenades. The others retreated as he crept up to the door, then lobbed an armed grenade and the rest of the bandolier inside.

The resulting explosion instantly killed all ten guards and demolished every piece of equipment in the command center, including the monster control. The battle for the base was won, but the fighting was not over. The prisoners moved on, into the research area. The door to one of the labs was open, and from inside, they could hear someone pounding on a door and calling for help.

* * *

Kong and Komodithrax, freed from the machine's influence at last, looked around in confusion. Their memories of all that had happened since they were put under control were fuzzy. All they knew was that they were in the midst of a nasty fight that neither wanted anything to do with. The ape and the lizard broke formation and backed away slowly, not wanting to draw the ire of the mutants.

"Hey!" said Dunham. "Two of the monsters are falling back! What's going on?"

"I don't know," replied Honda. "Maybe something happened to the machine…but then, why are the others still circling Godzilla?"

On the other hand, the personnel on the cliff understood exactly what was happening. Hirano and two guards headed for the elevator and called it up, hoping that whatever damage the control device had sustained could be repaired, or at the very least that the base was not completely lost. The elevator door opened slowly…

BLAM!

Hirano's torso was blasted wide open. The remaining personnel were confronted by a gang of prisoners, and leading them was Doctor Yuma, clutching an automatic shotgun. "Go for it!" he taunted, daring them to reach for their guns. "Give me an excuse!"

The guards raised their hands over their heads. Yuma motioned for them to back up against the cliff, then ran to Keiko's side.

"Keiko! Are you alright? Can you hear me?"

Keiko's eyes fluttered, then popped wide open. The restraints on her chair flew off and she rose up into the air. The prisoners gasped, and even Yuma was utterly stunned. Keiko called out to the monsters: "Stop fighting!"

Shinzo's mutants below halted their advance to gaze up at her. Deep underground, the remains of Biollante stirred. Godzilla heard it, too, as did Honda, who responded in surprise. _Hello? Who is that?_

Keiko recognized the voice in her head. _Miss Kumi? It's me, Keiko!_

 _Keiko! What…you…How are you doing this?_

 _I don't know how to explain it. It happened all of a sudden…_

 _Never mind, we can discuss it later. Are you with Doctor Yuma?_

 _Yes, we're here on the cliff!_

Honda looked up and down the cliff until she saw them. "There, Lieutenant! Doctor Yuma and Keiko are on that ledge!"

"I see them. Moving in."

 _Hang in there, Keiko. We're coming for you._

Just then, something enormous crawled out of the shadows. Shinzo's mutation had turned him into a monster larger than Godzilla. His serpentine head was thrust far out in front of the rest of him, and the extended arch of his back had formed a hard carapace. His legs had become short and stumpy, while his hands had each become almost as big as his torso. The tail was longer and thicker, but it still dragged uselessly on the ground. His yellow eyes glowed like evil stars in the dim evening light. His mouth, lined with crooked fangs, opened wide, letting out a deep, throaty howl.

"Jesus Christ!" yelled Dunham, pulling the _Griffon_ away. "What the hell is _that_?"

Yuma instantly knew what the hideous deformity before them was. "Shinzo! The ORGA must have turned him into that monstrosity!"

Keiko tried to reach into the monster's mind, hoping there was something human left to reason with inside, but she found nothing. "That thing's not Shinzo anymore. He's just a mindless creature now, looking for something to feed on."

"Terrifying," said Yuma. "He's become one with the ORGA."

The ORGA beast eyed the other monsters. Each of them looked to it like a meal; it could devour them, harvest their supply of G1, and continue to grow. With another malevolent howl, it stomped toward them; its cumbersome build and short legs meant that it could not effectively rush them, but it nevertheless made for a terrifying sight.

Godzilla spoke to the other monsters. _We must stop it now, before it kills us all and moves on to kill others._ He looked to Zilla. _You and I will keep him busy. The rest of you, get the wounded out of the way._

Nodding in understanding, Kong, Komodithrax, and the mutants hauled their unconscious allies to the other side of the mountain, out of harm's way. Godzilla and Zilla charged their atomic rays and released them together. ORGA was hit between the neck and the carapace, blasting off huge chunks of scaly flesh. The beast slowed its approach but did not stop. The flesh grew back right before their eyes, regenerating completely within five seconds.

Honda could not believe her eyes. "Did you see that? Not even Godzilla, nor Sanda or Gaira could heal that fast!"

Dunham eyed the cliff. "The monster's moving away. This might be our only chance to pick up Yuma and his patient before this whole area gets razed to the ground!"

"Go for it! Go, go!"

 _Griffon_ swooped down and opened its rear hatch. Keiko took Yuma's hand and flew them both into the airship. Yuma nearly collapsed when she released her grip and set him down inside. "Whooooa! I forgot how weird that feels!"

Once the hatch closed, Honda ran to the back to embrace Yuma. "Adam!" she shouted, tears of joy streaming down her face.

Yuma sobbed openly. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

Dunham yelled back to them. "Buckle up, folks! If we don't get out of the way quickly, we're all gonna be toast!"

 _Griffon_ pulled up to a high altitude. The onlookers on the cliff ledge withdrew into the elevator and descended into the base. The surviving guards knew they were safer taking a chance with the prisoners than with the monsters.

ORGA continued toward the would-be buffet despite a second combined blast from Godzilla and Zilla. Deutalios rushed it, jumping from side to side as he charged to avoid ORGA's slow movements. However, as he leaped toward the head to claw its eyes out, ORGA snatched him in the air with its massive hands. The rodent squirmed and hissed, clawing and snapping, but his captor unhinged its jaw and thrust his head into its gaping maw.

CHOMP!

Deutalios was not completely beheaded, but his head remained attached only by the bone and the deeper layers of muscle tissue. ORGA's carapace pulsed with green and violet lights as it drained its victim of energy. Deutalios kicked and thrashed, but his body was drying out and shriveling up. Bagorah and Skeetera came at ORGA, trying to save their comrade, but they were too late; Deutalios stopped moving, and the killer cast his body aside.

The flying mutants maneuvered behind ORGA and attempted to lift it up, Skeetera by the tail, Bagorah by the carapace. It bent its knees and dug its claws into the ground, making it impossible to move. Godzilla and Zilla targeted its arms with their rays and succeeded in breaking its grasp; the left arm was mangled by the attack, while the right was blasted clean off.

Bagorah and Skeetera managed to lift ORGA into the air with the intention of dropping it from high enough to splatter its body into a hundred pieces on impact so that each piece could be destroyed. However, it was too heavy for that, so they improvised; Skeetera let go first, then Bagorah, so that ORGA swung as it fell and landed flat on its back, where the weight was concentrated. Like a turtle tipped over, ORGA was unable to turn itself over.

Skeetera set down behind ORGA's head, which it could not turn because of its rigid neck, and tried to find an entry point for her proboscis. Most of the scaly skin was too dense to penetrate, but there was a soft spot under the lip of its carapace. She jammed the proboscis in deep and began sapping blood. However, the green and violet shimmering returned, and all at once, Skeetera seemed to be the one being drained; her energy flowed into ORGA's body, and the flesh around her proboscis tightened so that she could not withdraw. Bagorah tried to help her break free, but only succeeded in snapping her proboscis off. By then, the damage was done, and another mutant had died.

ORGA's severed arm started to regenerate, but instead of a new hand, three long tentacles formed which it used to ensnare the monster bat. Bagorah screeched and launched himself into the air, but he could not break free from ORGA's grip. Godzilla fried the long tentacles just as they began to suck energy from Bagorah, who just barely escaped with his life.

ORGA's tentacles regenerated with spear-like tips and dug into the ground about fifty meters away. With a laborious tug, the monster shifted its weight and pulled itself upright. It opened its mouth wide, and a golden light emanated from its throat, followed by an intense, focused beam of energy. Zilla dodged out of the way just in time and blasted ORGA in the face, scorching its eyes and temporarily blinding it.

Zilla and Bagorah seized the opportunity and rushed in, hoping to find a weak spot. Godzilla, however, remained behind, moaning in distress and clawing at his shoulder. He had been hit by ORGA's beam; the wound was not very deep and should have healed instantly, but it did not, and it continued to cause Godzilla pain.

"What happened?" said Dunham. "What's up with Big G?"

Yuma swallowed anxiously. "It looks like ORGA's beam affected his healing factor!"

Honda angrily slammed her fist against the console. "Dammit! How are we supposed to kill this thing?"

Keiko closed her eyes and reached out with her mind. She sensed Biollante and spoke silently to her: _My friend, I need your help again!_

* * *

The fight for Red Bamboo HQ was done; all of the surviving personnel had surrendered, and while not all of the prisoners were of mind to let the terrorists live after what they had put them through, quite a few were, knowing that someone would need to corroborate their story if and when they returned home.

As the former captives exchanged celebratory embraces and handshakes, a muffled cry echoed throughout the facility. The wailing grew louder and louder, but none could determine where it was coming from.

* * *

ORGA's eyes were regenerating more slowly due to their structural complexity. It was still blind as Zilla and Bagorah pounced upon it and began tearing into its flesh. ORGA took a shot in the dark and fired its beam just as Bagorah's wing was in its path. The mutant bat shrieked as the appendage was severed at the knuckle. ORGA heard the cry and snatched Bagorah with its claws, crushing the life out of him.

Just as ORGA's eyes were nearly healed, Zilla was joined by Kong and Komodithrax; the three of them knocked ORGA onto its back again, and the ape's strength proved sufficient to rip the clawed arm out of its shoulder socket. Zilla tried cauterizing the stump with his breath, but ORGA slung Bagorah's corpse at him, forcing him aside. ORGA fired another beam, cutting the tops off Zilla's largest dorsal spikes; this rendered him unable to generate the power for another energy attack, and the pain had him doubling over. With its vision fully restored, ORGA opened its mouth to swallow him, while Kong and Komodithrax struggled in vain to hold him back.

Godzilla watched and knew that his allies would not last much longer against ORGA's wrath. His mind raced. An idea came to him, a terrible, desperate, ludicrous idea, but it was the only solution he could come up with. With a snarl and a roar, he plunged headlong toward the enemy, spines aglow. ORGA threw off the other monsters and opened its mouth as wide as possible. Godzilla lowered his head and rammed himself into its mouth.

"NO!" shouted Honda. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

ORGA had difficulty getting its teeth into Godzilla with his huge spines glowing hot. Their light grew brighter and brighter, illuminating the entire area as the last rays of sunlight faded. Kong and Komodithrax discerned what was happening and ran, carrying Zilla with them.

Honda knew it, too. "Lieutenant!"

Without needing further instruction, Dunham yanked the controls and pulled them high up into the sky. ORGA, preoccupied with its meal, had no idea what was going on until Godzilla finally unleashed his atomic blast with a full charge.

Devil's Island shook all the way down to the seafloor. Bits of ORGA went flying in all directions. The remaining trees and plants on the island were vaporized. Kong and Komodithrax jumped into the water with Zilla, narrowly avoiding the blast.

As the explosion dissipated, Godzilla could be seen standing amidst ORGA's obliterated remains. He himself was covered in deep burns, melted down to the bone in some places, but he was alive. He limped a few steps away from the burning corpse before falling on his face. He lay there, catching his breath as his wounds mended.

But behind him, ORGA's body began to pull itself back together. Even the parts that had completely disintegrated were restored faster than Godzilla's injuries healed.

Honda watched in rapt horror from above. "Godzilla! Get out of there!"

ORGA was back on its feet first, extending its tentacles in preparation to absorb the weakened Godzilla, who himself was barely conscious and unable to defend himself. Honda's telekinesis was not strong enough to subdue ORGA, nor could she harm it telepathically. Godzilla was in mortal danger.

Again the island shook. The ground burst open beside ORGA and long vines emerged, wrapping themselves around the monster and throwing it to the ground. A large mass followed, pulling up with it a set of roots as thick as Godzilla's legs.

"Oh, God," muttered Dunham. "Another one!"

"No!" Keiko shouted enthusiastically. "It's her! Biollante!"

"Biollante?" asked Honda.

"Yes! She's the one who gave me my powers! Isn't she a beautiful creature?"

Biollante reared her head, but now in place of a flower, she had a frightening reptilian visage covered in jagged leaves and thorns. She opened her mouth wide, displaying endless rows of teeth, and let out a noise that chilled the bones, a combination of a banshee-like wail and a warbly growl.

"Whoa!" said Keiko. "She, uh…didn't look like that before."

ORGA broke free from the vines and righted itself. The vines, now fiercer-looking than ever, spewed forth torrents of acid, singing ORGA's skin. The deformed beast howled and clawed at the burns, which were healing but not properly. The new tissue was paler and more fibrous, lacking the tough armoured appearance of the surrounding skin.

"Do you see that?" said Yuma. "The monster - it's scarring! Biollante disrupted its healing!"

"YEAH!" cheered Keiko. "How do you like a taste of your own medicine?"

ORGA fired its beam, strafing across Biollante's body; she healed strangely, too, with the new tissue taking on the more plant-like appearance of her previous form. She sent out her vines again; ORGA caught several of them in its claws and ripped them off, but the remainder sprayed him with more acid and the damaged vines regrew within seconds to join them.

After the second volley, ORGA's carapace and hands, which it had used to shield its face, were covered in scar tissue. It tried to change one hand into tentacles again, but the regrown tissue lacked the ability to transform. One of Biollante's vines clamped its jaws shut and plunged right through ORGA's left hand like a spear, coming out the other side. ORGA tore out the offending appendage, and this time the wound did not heal at all.

ORGA decided it was time to finish off this new adversary. It began charging its beam, aiming for Biollante's head. In response, she latched her vines around all four of its limbs, then opened her central mouth and unleashed a torrent of acid. ORGA was inundated from head to tail, but through the spray, it fired its beam, keeping it concentrated on Biollante's neck.

The beam and the acid spray carried on discharging for about half a minute. Eventually, Biollante was forced to stop first. Her head was barely attached still, and she had weakened considerably. She collapsed backward in a heap; her vines flailed uselessly for a few moments before dropping to the ground.

ORGA shook off as much of the corrosive goo as it could. The acid had almostly completely sapped the monster's ability to regenerate, and worse, some of it had gone down its throat. ORGA tried to send out another beam to cut Biollante in half, but only managed a feeble burst of hot sparks. If necessary, it would tear the plant creature apart with its bare hands.

Just then, Godzilla leapt to his feet, fully recovered, and unleashed his atomic breath. ORGA's left arm was blown off, along with large chunks of carapace. It screamed angrily and reached for Godzilla with its remaining arm, but the weak tissue now covering most of its body was also stiffer, making it harder to move with any kind of speed or grace. Godzilla simply grabbed the slow-moving hand and gave a tug, flipping ORGA over his head and slamming it onto the ground with enough force to crush its face flat. Godzilla held onto the arm, dug his feet into the ground, and pulled, tearing it from the shoulder.

Blinded, horribly maimed, and disarmed, ORGA lay motionless, barely clinging to life. After withstanding such a beating before, it was now utterly helpless. Godzilla unleashed a continuous stream of atomic energy, maintaining the attack until ORGA's body was burned away to nothing. The dreaded mutation and the cruel man who unwittingly gave it life were gone forever.

There were cheers aboard the _Griffon_. At last the horror was over.

Keiko, however, was weeping. Yuma noticed and put an arm over her shoulder. "Hey now, are you okay?"

"Biollante," she sobbed. "She saved us all. I can't read her now. I think she's dead!"

There was a moment of silence as everyone aboard paid their respect to the great rose. It was true that without her help, the fight would certainly have been lost.

But as they watched, Biollante started moving again, slowly. She lifted herself upright, revealing that her sinister visage had reverted to a rosebud, now in full bloom. Spores shot out from the flower, high into the air, and rained slowly down all over Devil's Island, shining bright in the dark. As they landed, the ground was rapidly covered with new flowers in every color of the rainbow. Godzilla closed his eyes and breathed deeply, savoring the thousand sweet aromas permeating the air. The other six monsters - Kong, Komodithrax, Zilla, Anguirus, Titanosaurus, and Rodan - emerged to join him.

This beautiful sight, the calm aftermath of their most trying battle yet, deeply moved Honda. "Adam," she asked, wiping a tear from her face, "what do they call this place?"

Yuma sighed. "Devil's Island."

Honda chuckled in response. "Well, I don't think that'll do very well now!"

Keiko thought for a moment, then chimed in excitedly. "How about…Birth Island?"

"Much better!" said Honda. She looked at Keiko, then got up from her chair to embrace her. She spoke to her telepathically. _Keiko, I think you deserve to know that the change you're going through will be difficult and scary. No matter how bad it seems, I'll be there; I'll help you in any way I can. It'll be alright._

 _Thank you, Miss Kumi. I know everything will work out for the best so long as I have you and Adam to depend on._

"Alright, folks," said Dunham. "Fasten your seatbelts. We're heading home."


	8. A HARD GOODBYE

Following the Birth Island incident, Kong, Komodithrax, Zilla, and Titanosaurus were added to the Project G network, now numbering seven strong. In light of these new additions, it was decided that the monsters of Project G would be collectively designated as the G-Force. Zilla and Komodithrax developed a mutual attraction, so the two were given Birth Island to themselves, where they began building a nest. Honda expressed doubt that the two could ever produce offspring, but she hoped they would, all the same.

Honda was granted a few days of shore leave to visit with Doctor Yuma and Keiko. She could scarcely let them out of her sight, even when Yuma was called upon for a classified debriefing. He returned looking distraught, but assured her it was merely the stress of recounting the experience. He asked to be left alone for the rest of the evening, to which Honda agreed. Keiko had been discharged from the hospital, so she and Honda took up a room at a nearby hotel, while Yuma slept at home.

The next day, Honda went to visit him early and found the house unlocked, but Yuma was nowhere to be seen. She looked around and came across a tear-stained letter addressed to her sitting on the kitchen counter. She recognized the handwriting as Yuma's, and as she read, her own tears splashed onto the page, mingling with his.

 _Dear Kumi,_

 _I can never thank you enough for saving Keiko and me from that horrible island. Sadly, I must disappear again, and this time I mean not to be found._

 _There was another scientist there, a Chinese woman called Professor Fang working on behalf of Prokofiev's organization. Shinzo lost his temper with her and threw her in with the other prisoners. When I was called in for debriefing, I gave a description of her and was told they had rescued a prisoner who matched, but she vanished before she could be questioned. She must have had help. Is there nobody we can trust?_

 _Now she's in the wind and I worry that she will tell of our work on the island. Soon someone else might come for me like Shinzo did. As I thought about it more and more, I realized that it'll never be over. No matter how much I try to do good for the world, I'll never be free of my past, and there will always be someone else willing to go after me and the people I love so they can force me to do it all again. That is not something I can live with._

 _So I'm leaving. I'll find a place far away where that spectre cannot follow me. I'll try to keep up my beloved work, but if I find that it's better for me to disappear entirely, then so be it. Please, for my benefit and yours, don't come looking for me._

 _I have left detailed notes for Dr. Sawaguchi, my colleague, on how to replicate and synthesize the curative mold we took from Infant Island. Meanwhile, I entrust Keiko to you. You're the closest thing she has to family now, and I know you can help her. I hope these good deeds will be my legacy, rather than the atrocities I have committed._

 _This will in all probability be the last time you ever hear from me, and I want you to know that to be your friend and colleague has been one of the great pleasures of my life. I wish you all the happiness in the world._

 _Yours truly,_

 _Adam_


End file.
